Unemployment benefit recipients take 5 months to find new jobs: survey

People on unemployment benefits in Taiwan take an average 21.5 weeks to find new jobs, according to the results of a Ministry of Labor (MOL) survey released Wednesday.

The survey results also show that when asked about their financial resources during the period of receiving unemployment benefits, 88.4 percent of the respondents answered that it came through relief money from the government, while 39.4 percent replied "personal savings," and 32 percent said they lived primarily on severance pay from their previous jobs.

The respondents were allowed to give more than one answer to each question, according to the MOL, which said it conducted the survey in April among people who received unemployment benefits in the period between 2013 and 2015.

The survey was aimed at acquiring information on unemployment benefit recipients' general work status and what the government can do to help them return to the workplace, the MOL said.

A total of 12,199 valid samples were received for the survey, the ministry said.

According to the poll, 75.1 percent of the respondents eventually found new jobs, taking them an average 21.1 weeks to re-enter the workforce.

The survey also found that people with only a junior high school educational background, and those aged 45 or over, are most likely to not re-enter the job market after they start to take unemployment benefits.

Under the Employment Insurance Act, those who become unemployed involuntarily are entitled to apply for unemployment benefits, which are set at 60 percent of an applicant's average insured monthly salary in the six-month period right before employment separation and withdrawal from the insurance program.

The payments can continue for up to six months.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel