The number of furloughed workers on formal unpaid leave programs in Taiwan fell below 10,000 this week after four manufacturers received rush orders, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
Data compiled by the ministry showed that the number of workers on furlough was 9,809 as of Tuesday, down 1,060 from 10,869 a week earlier.
The number of employers in active furlough programs fell to 364, down 72 from a week earlier, the data showed.
Photo: CNA
Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) said that the fall in furloughed workers came after the manufacturing sector reported a decline of more than 800 workers on unpaid leave.
Four manufacturers — each employing more than 100 people, with two in the metal and electric machinery industry and two in the electronics industry — ended their furlough programs in the seven-day period after receiving rush or short-term orders, Huang said.
The export-oriented manufacturing sector still reported the highest number of furloughed workers, at 8,791 as of Tuesday, almost 90 percent of the total number in such programs, the ministry said.
The metal and electric machinery industry had 5,648 workers on unpaid leave as of Tuesday, while the electronics industry had 1,861, it said.
The local service sector appeared relatively stable as domestic consumption has been consistent in the post-COVID-19 era, it said.
The number of furloughed workers in the retail and wholesale industries fell from 927 to 866, while the number in the support service industry, which includes travel agencies, dropped to 55 from 83 over the seven-day period, the data showed.
The ministry updates its furloughed worker data four times each month and reports the number of employees in furlough programs registered with it.
Most of the enterprises with furlough programs are small firms, employing fewer than 50 people.
Unpaid leave programs typically last for less than three months, with employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, the ministry said.
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