Taipei: Taiwan's jobless rate fell for the third consecutive month in November, reaching a 25-year low, as a decrease in first-time jobseekers contributed to the trend, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) announced on Monday.

According to Focus Taiwan, data from DGBAS indicated that the local unemployment rate decreased by 0.03 percentage points from the previous month to 3.33 percent in November, marking the lowest rate for the month since 2000 when it was 3.23 percent.

However, seasonally adjusted figures showed a slight increase, with the unemployment rate rising by 0.02 percentage points from October to 3.35 percent. The number of unemployed individuals reduced by 3,000 or 0.86 percent from the prior month to 401,000, while employment numbers grew by 4,000 or 0.04 percent, reaching 11.64 million. This brought the labor participation rate up by 0.03 percentage points to 59.57 percent.

In the first 11 months of the year, Taiwan's average jobless rate was 3.35 percent, representing a 0.04 percentage point drop compared to the same period last year. November saw a reduction of 4,000 first-time jobseekers, continuing a three-month downward trend. The number of individuals losing jobs due to business closures or downsizing decreased by 2,000.

The DGBAS highlighted varying unemployment rates by education level, with university graduates experiencing the highest rate at 4.52 percent, followed by those with senior high school education at 2.29 percent, and junior high school education at 2.14 percent. Among age groups, the 20-24 cohort faced the highest unemployment at 11.70 percent, driven by first-time job seekers. The rates for the 25-29 and 15-19 age groups were 5.85 percent and 10.55 percent, respectively.

Time-related underemployment affected 124,000 individuals in November, decreasing by 2,000 from the previous month, marking the second consecutive month of decline. Tan Wen-ling, deputy director of the agency's Census Department, noted that despite uncertainties from U.S. tariff policies, Taiwan's job market remains robust. Tan expressed optimism that the conclusion of tariff talks between Taiwan and the United States could further lower the time-related underemployment figures.

The International Labor Organization describes time-related underemployment as a situation where workers are eager and available to work more hours than they currently do.