The unemployment rate last month climbed to 3.48 percent, an increase of 0.03 percentage points from one month earlier to an 11-month high, as first-time jobseekers continued to rise due to the graduation season, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
However, the lagging economic indicator — which holds great sway on consumer spending — was at its lowest in 24 years for the same month, the statistics agency said.
“If there are no major surprises, the jobless reading is likely to drop from this month as first-time jobseekers land positions and summer workers return to school,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) told a news briefing in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The unemployment rate after seasonal adjustments rose 0.02 percentage points to 3.36 percent, suggesting a stable job market, he said.
The latest data meant that the number of jobless people last month rose 4,000, or 0.98 percent, to 419,000, while the number of first-time jobseekers increased by 3,000, the DGBAS said, adding that some of them were summer workers and would not affect the gauge afterwards.
There are mixed data that merited attention, the agency said.
The number of people who lost jobs due to business downsizing or closures increased by 2,400, while those who work less than 35 hours a week for economic reasons grew by 22,000 to 197,000, it said.
Although the figures rose from one month earlier, they declined if compared with a year earlier, Tan said, adding that the gains were small and the DGBAS would closely monitor any changes.
At the same time, the average period of unemployment was 19.9 weeks, easing by 0.3 weeks from one month earlier, the agency said.
The duration was shorter for first-time jobseekers at 15.5 weeks and stretched to 21.2 weeks for other groups, it said.
People with a university degree had the highest unemployment rate at 4.61 percent, followed by high-school graduates at 3.29 percent, people with junior-college diplomas at 2.86 percent and people with a graduate degree at 2.79 percent, the DGBAS said.
Those whose highest educational attainment was junior-high school or below had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.17 percent, it said.
People aged 20 to 24 had the highest unemployment rate at 12.21 percent, followed by the 15-to-19 age bracket at 9.04 percent and the 25-to-29 age group at 6.01 percent, the DGBAS said.
The jobless rate stood at 3.37 percent among people aged 30 to 34; 2.57 percent for ages 35 to 39; 2.45 percent for those between 40 and 44 years old; and 2.26 percent for people aged 45 to 64, it said.
That meant 27.26 percent of young people aged 15 to 29 had difficulty finding jobs, which is unfavorable for the job market given Taiwan’s low birthrate and aging population, the DGBAS said.
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