The number of furloughed workers on formal unpaid leave programs rose last week, with the export-oriented manufacturing sector accounting for the bulk of employees newly placed on the schemes amid weakening global demand, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
Data compiled by the ministry showed that the number of workers placed on unpaid leave programs as of Saturday increased by 789 from July 7 to 9,915, while the number of employers taking advantage of furlough programs rose by 47 from a week earlier to 578.
Those in the manufacturing sector accounted for 578 of the 789 newly furloughed workers, pushing the total in the sector to 7,909, the data showed.
Photo: CNA
The number of employers in the sector using the programs grew from 205 to 222, the ministry said.
Of the 578 workers furloughed in the manufacturing sector, the metal and machinery segment accounted for 571 of them, Labor Conditions and Equal Employment Division Deputy Director-General Wang Chin-jung (王金蓉) said.
That included one bicycle shock absorber supplier and a rotating lathe machine maker placing 210 and 170 people on furlough respectively, with firms reporting a decline in export orders in the past few weeks, Wang said.
Data from the service sector showed relatively stable conditions.
As of Saturday, the number of furloughed workers in the support service industries — comprised of travel agencies — increased from 452 a week earlier to 524.
Travel agencies had seen a significant improvement in the period from June 30 to July 7, with the number of furloughed workers falling sharply from 5,118 to 452, the ministry said.
As of Saturday, the number of workers placed on furlough programs in the retail and wholesale industry, and the lodging and food and beverage industry, rose to 866 and 147 respectively, from 752 and 137 a week earlier.
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