The number of furloughed workers increased slightly over the past week as the economic effects of COVID-19-related border restrictions continued, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
As of yesterday, 17,009 workers had agreed to enter unpaid leave programs with their employer, up 144 from 16,865 a week earlier, ministry data showed.
Meanwhile, the number of employers offering unpaid leave programs increased by 53 to 893 during the one-week period, the data showed.
Most of the increases during the past week occurred in the retail and wholesale, logistics and warehousing, lodging, and food and beverage industries, as well as in the service sector, including education consulting firms offering study abroad, the data showed.
Taipei saw the largest growth in the number of employers implementing unpaid leave programs over the past week, rising to 251 from 226.
The large growth in Taipei was due to border control measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which have taken a toll on local industries, Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Deputy Director Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) said.
The growth in the number of companies implementing unpaid leave programs has significantly outpaced the growth in the number of furloughed workers over the past week, because fewer large and medium-sized enterprises implemented the programs, while more small and micro-sized businesses put their employees on unpaid leave, Huang said.
The retail and wholesale industry recorded the highest number of employers with unpaid leave programs at 307, followed by the manufacturing sector with 270 and the support service industry at 80, ministry data showed.
The manufacturing sector recorded the largest number of furloughed workers, with 10,263 over the past week, ahead of the retail and wholesale industry, with 2,882, and the logistics and warehousing sector, with 1,388, the data showed.
Most of the enterprises implementing furlough programs are small firms with workforces of fewer than 50 people.
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