Unemployment falls slightly in November (update)

Taiwan's unemployment rate fell slightly in November to 3.87 percent, with 455,000 people out of work, which is 9,000 fewer than in October, according to government figures released Thursday.

The figure was 0.08 percentage points lower than in October and down 0.04 points from a year ago, said the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate for November was down 0.06 percentage points from a month earlier at 3.84 percent, the DGBAS data shows.

The DGBAS said that the fall in the jobless rate in November was largely the result of more and more new graduates landing jobs, pushing down the number of first-time jobseekers in November by 7,000 from a month earlier.

In November, the number of people who lost their jobs due to business closures, downsizing, or termination of temporary work contracts fell about 2,000 from October, which brought the unemployment rate down further, the government agency said.

Pan Ning-hsin (???), deputy director of the DGBAS's census department, said that the jobless rate for December is likely to continue to trend downward as manpower demand during the upcoming Christmas season and the Lunar New Year holiday will increase to meet a buying spree, prompting employers to expand their workforces.

According to the DGBAS, the jobless rate among the 20-24 age group hit 12.73 percent, down 0.15 percentage points from a month earlier, while the unemployment rate among those aged 25-29 reached 6.67 percent, down 0.12 percentage points month-on-month, the DGBAS said.

The jobless rate among those with a university degree or higher in November stood at 4.80 percent, down 0.11 percentage points from a month earlier, it said.

The job data indicates that the employment conditions for the younger generation and for people with higher education appeared to improve, said the DGBAS.

It added that the number of people employed in November totaled 11.31 million, up 16,000, or 0.14 percent, from a month earlier and up 72,000, or 0.64 percent, from a year earlier.

The DGBAS said that the labor participation rate for November was 58.82 percent, up from October's 58.81 percent. After seasonal adjustments, the November labor participation rate remained unchanged from a month earlier at 58.76 percent, but was up 0.10 percentage points from a year earlier.

In the first 11 months of this year, the jobless rate averaged 3.93 percent, up 0.16 percentage points from a year earlier, while the labor participation rate stood at 58.74 percent, up 0.09 percentage points from a year earlier, the DGBAS data shows.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel