Sat, Sep 23, 2023 page12

• Jobs data steady as closures ease

  STABLE: The unemployment rate held steady last month and should lightly trend down after graduation season; although it took first-timers longer to find a job

  • By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter
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  The nation’s unemployment rate last month held steady at 3.56 percent, the lowest for the same month in 23 years, as more people quit, but fewer people lost work to business downsizing and closures, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

  The lagging economic indicator is expected to fall moderately this month when the graduation season is exptected to stop affecting the job market, Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said.

  “The stable market had much to do with the graduation season and strong hiring by the services sector,” Chen said.

  

  Two people pass by an employment services center in Kaohsiung City’s Cianjhen District yesterday.

  Photo: CNA

  The jobless rate after seasonal adjustments shed 0.01 percentage points to 3.42 percent, affirming a stable market and a new 23-year low, the official said.

  The figures suggested a total jobless population of 426,000, unchanged from the level seen in July, after people who lost jobs to business downsizing and closures dropped by 2,000, the DGBAS said in a monthly report. The number of people who quit gained 1,000, it added.

  The statistics came after the services sector raised headcount by 5,000, while industrial and agricultural sectors cut 2,000 and 1,000 jobs respectively, it said. At the same time, people who worked fewer than 35 hours per week for economic reasons picked up 10,000 to 208,000, as manufacturers idled capacity to cope with poor sales and business visibility, it said.

  By education breakdown, people with university degrees had the highest unemployment rate of 4.91 percent, followed by people with high-school diplomas at 3.25 percent and people with graduate education at 2.88 percent, the survey said.

  People with junior-high school or lower education had the lowest unemployment rate of 2.38 percent, it added.

  From a demographic perspective, people aged 20 to 24 had the highest jobless rate of 12.47 percent, followed by people aged 15 to 19 at 8.46 percent, and those aged 25 to 29 at 5.9 percent. People aged 45 to 64 had the lowest unemployment rate of 2.24 percent.

  The average overall unemployment period lengthened by 1.4 weeks to 20.8 weeks, while the average shrank 0.9 weeks to 14.6 weeks for first-time jobseekers, it said.

  Taiwan’s headline unemployment rate is higher than that of major regional trade rivals given Japan’s 2.6 percent, South Korea’s 2.0 percent and Hong Kong’s 2.9 percent, DGBAS data showed.

  In a related news, US smartphone IC designer Qualcomm Inc confirmed yesterday that it would implement a restructuring plan and that the plan would include its Taiwan office. It was in the process of developing its plans, to consist largely of workforce reductions that were expected to incur significant additional restructuring charges, a substantial portion of which could be reflected in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, a company statement said.

  The restructuring included its Taiwan office, the statement said. It did not provide any details on the exact number of employees who would be affected by the upcoming layoffs.

  The planned restructuring, expected to be completed by March next year, was necessary to enable continued investments in key growth and diversification opportunities amid continued uncertainty in the macroeconomic and demand environment, Qualcomm said.

  Additional reporting by CNA
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