Officials say the jobless outlook could remain bleak for the next 12 months, unless the government’s economic stimulus program is effectively executed, to start generating concrete effects in time.

One positive figure in the October employment data was the total number of people employed that month amounted to 10.424 million, up 19,000 from the previous month and representing a new high since October 2006, according to statistics released by the Directorate General of the Budget, Accounting & Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday.

The number of employed people in the January-October period averaged 10.407 million, a 1.24 percent year-on-year rise. But the rise represented the slowest pace of growth for the same 10-month period in the past five years, another sign of Taiwan’s slowing labor market momentum, said DGBAS official Huang Jiann-jong.

The October unemployment figure of 4.37 percent was marginally higher than September’s 4.27 percent and marked the sixth consecutive monthly increase.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October also rose for the fourth consecutive month to 4.29 percent, a new high for the month since 2003 when the Democratic Progressive Party was in power.

The numbers of indicators reflect the country’s weakening labor market as a result of the global economic downturn, Huang said.

The seasonally adjusted jobless figure of 4.29 percent, the highest for any single month since March 2005, also reflects “structural changes in the domestic labor market.”

If the seasonally adjusted jobless rate records four monthly increases in a row, then the structural change may last for as long as a year, based on previous experiences such as the oil crisis and the bursting of the Internet bubble at the beginning of this decade, Huang explained.

The jobless rate in the first 10 months averaged 4.01 percent, up 0.09 percentage points year-on-year and the highest for the January-October period in the past three years.

Slower increase

But Huang said the jobless rate may increase at a slower pace due to the government’s distribution of NT$82.9 billion shopping vouchers to spur domestic consumption and the long-term NT$500 billion economic stimulus program plus the employment promotion efforts.

Responding to the latest job data, officials at the Council of Labor Affairs said the government has earmarked NT$26.6 billion to promote employment for the next four years.

About NT$16.7 billion of the fund will be used to help those capable of taking employment to find the jobs they want and assist others who want to run their own small businesses.

When addressing a ceremony to present awards to budding entrepreneurs and open an exhibition of successful business ventures yesterday, CLA Chairwoman Wang Ju-hsuan said the council and its branch offices have been working on a NT$9.8 billion plan to help 45,000 people take up work before June 2009.

An additional NT$4.05 billion will be used to help 35,000 people find employment.

Meanwhile, the seed fund extended to qualified women to set up their own business operations in terms of easy loans in the “Phoenix Project” was doubled to NT$1 million from NT$500,000 starting in October.

The interest repayment for such micro-loans can be exempted for the first three years for financially underprivileged people, she said.

Gov’t assistance

Wang, who formerly worked as a lawyer and head of the Awakening Foundation to advocate women’s rights and gender equality at workplace, welcomed people looking for jobs or planning to launch business ventures to visit Web site www.be-boss.org.tw or call 0800-092-957 for information, free management courses, and consultation to improve business operations.

Officials handling commerce and small business affairs at the Ministry of Economic Affairs urged those planning to start their own business ventures to tap the resources available at the MOEA’s Web site.

The National Youth Commission held yesterday a meeting of educators from higher learning institutes in northern Taiwan to exchange experiences on helping college students better prepare for their working careers after graduation.

Wang Yu-ting, chairwoman of the commission, said her agency will assist schools to increase courses and training for students, instill the students with correct attitudes toward future careers which are different from their previous part-time jobs.

She said universities can also learn from each other, including the electronic data file for each students, including their majors, minors, and special skills acquired at the school as well as the professional certificates they have already earned.

Such data enable the faculty to locate students in need of special counseling and help them with earlier preparations for new challenges before it is too late, Wang said.