Jobless rate moves down from record high to 6.04% in October

The seasonally adjusted rate declined to 6.04 percent in October from 6.09 percent in September, the first drop in 18 months, according to figures released yesterday by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

Without adjusting for seasonal factors, the jobless rate fell to 5.96 percent from 6.04 percent in September, representing a drop for two months in a row.

The number of unemployed people fell by 8,000 to 653,000 in October from 661,000 in September.

The number of people who were forced out of jobs by downsizing or the shutdown of business operations was down by 1,000, the fourth consecutive decline in same months.

Officials at the statistics agency said the latest data shows the unemployment situation is holding steady.

However, they pointed out that jobless people in the 45-64 age bracket rose by 1,000 to 138,000 from September and up sharply by 40,000 from October 2008.

They said this will continue having an adverse impact on families and society.

They also noted that the average take-home monthly salary stood at NT$41,308 for the January-September period, falling 5.54 percent from the same period of last year.

The record reduction for the nine-month period brought the wage back to the level of 1997 when employees in Taiwan drew a monthly wage of NT$42,215.

For September, the constant average wage, which excludes overtime pay and bonuses, declined by 1.64 percent from the same month of last year to reach NT$36,036. This however represented the smallest shrinkage in 11 months.

Liu Tien-si, a DGBAS deputy department chief, said the pace of drop in the unemployment rate will hinge on the speed and strength of economic recovery to be induced by export trade and the effects from the government's investment in public construction projects.

The decline in the unemployment rate adds to signs that Taiwan is gradually emerging from recession. Exports, equivalent to about two-thirds of the island's gross domestic product, declined the least in 13 months in October and the DGBAS said in August the economy may return to positive growth in the fourth quarter.

Taiwan's exports dropped 4.7 percent in October from a year earlier, after a 12.7 percent decrease in September, the Ministry of Finance said on Nov. 9. That drop represents the smallest decline since September 2008.

A survey by the 1111 online job bank shows that up to 64 percent of high-tech enterprises have been hiring new engineers, technicians, R&D staff, and marketing personnel in the fourth quarter of this year.

As high as 76.6 percent of companies in the information-technology industry reported their business operations have totally revived or are on the way towards full recovery.

Yet some economists cautioned that the high jobless rates in the U.S. and Canada could continue weakening spending power in North America and casting a shadow on Taiwan's trade performance and job picture.

The government is still under heavy pressure to prevent a possible of resurge in the unemployment rate. High jobless rate is ranked among the major public complaints and grievances toward the current administration.

Officials at the Council of Labor Affairs said the number of people applying for unemployment subsidies for the first time has decreased to under 10,000.

The council will continue adopting measures to create at least 45,000 job opportunities next year, including offering incentives to enterprises and organizations that hire unemployed people, they pledged.

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