The number of furloughed workers on formal unpaid leave programs fell by more than 1,200 over the past week, as some manufacturers restored workers to their full-time hours, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The manufacturers who brought employees back to work during the week were mainly export-oriented suppliers helped by an increase in orders, Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) said.
However, it is too early to say whether global demand has stabilized after an extended period of weakness, Huang said.
Photo: CNA
The number of workers on unpaid leave programs registered with the government fell to 14,557, down 1,252 from figures released on Monday last week, ministry data showed.
As of yesterday, the number of employers implementing furlough programs fell to 2,013 from 2,154 a week earlier.
In the manufacturing sector, the number of workers on unpaid leave totaled 6,548, down 659 workers from Monday last week. The number of employers with unpaid leave programs fell to 306 from 335 a week earlier, the ministry said.
Among employers that scaled back their furlough programs, those in the metal and machinery industry restored jobs for about 280 workers on unpaid leave, Huang said.
One of them is a machine toolmaker that brought 80 employees back to work, he said.
A supplier of rubber products also cut the number of furloughed workers by 200 from 600 to support new orders.
However, it is unclear whether orders received by local manufacturers have stabilized, Huang said, adding that he expects the number of workers on furlough programs to fluctuate in the short term.
It is unlikely that the number in the near future would reach the April 6 high of 8,037 in the manufacturing sector — the highest since the second half of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Huang said.
Outside the manufacturing sector, the number of furloughed workers also decreased, the ministry said.
In the services sector, largely comprised of travel agencies, the number of workers on unpaid leave fell to 5,222 from 5,343 a week earlier.
The number of employers with furlough programs in the sector fell to 1,039 from 1,069, as global travel opens up amid widespread lifting of COVID-19 border restrictions.
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