Companies have placed more than 22,000 workers on unpaid leave nationwide as of Friday, including more than 10,000 in the manufacturing sector, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the domestic and global economy, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
A total of 1,285 companies have implemented unpaid leave programs in cooperation with their employees, up from 1,189 on May 18, ministry data showed.
The total number of workers on furlough at those companies as of Friday was 22,500, compared with 21,067 four days earlier, the data showed.
Photo: screen shot from the Ministry of Labor Web site
In the export-oriented manufacturing sector, the number of workers on unpaid leave rose by 1,383 over the four-day period, to 10,169, the highest figure among the nation’s major industries, the ministry said.
Within the sector, the metal and electrical industry furloughed more than 800 workers over the period, as orders from foreign customers continued to fall sharply due to the pandemic, Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director-General Hsieh Chien-chien (謝倩蒨) told reporters.
Other industries with high furlough numbers as of Friday were the wholesale and retail sector (3,839 workers), and the hospitality and food and beverage industry (3,569 workers), the ministry said.
However, the number of workers on unpaid leave in the hospitality and food and beverage industry declined by about 400 from May 18, as the government lifted some coronavirus restrictions and implemented relief measures.
Among the companies with employees on furlough, the wholesale and retail sector had the highest number at 386, followed by the manufacturing sector at 283, and the hospitality and food and beverage industry at 157, it said.
The number of workers on unpaid leave nationwide has reached the highest since November 2009, during the global financial crisis, Hsieh said.
Furlough programs typically last less than three months, with employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, the ministry said.
Most of the companies implementing unpaid leave are small enterprises with fewer than 50 workers, it added.
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