《TAIPEI TIMES》 Unemployment drops to 3.46 percent

POST-COVID-19 BOOST: The figure was the lowest in about 23 years for the month of May and was largely supported by the service sector’s recovery, a census official said

By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

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The unemployment rate last month declined 0.22 percentage points from a year earlier to 3.46 percent, thanks to robust demand for workers in the service sector as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics （DGBAS） said yesterday.

Month-on-month, the unemployment rate dropped 0.04 percentage points, aided by the service sector’s continued recovery and higher demand caused by Mother’s Day last month, the DGBAS said.

Last month’s reading was the lowest in about 23 years for the period, the agency said.

The unemployment rate for jobseekers aged 20 to 24 was the highest among all age groups last month at 11.52 percent, down from 11.75 percent in April.

“The improvement in the job market was mainly supported by a recovery in domestic demand and the service sector’s revival. The service sector took the hardest hit from the pandemic last year compared with other sectors,” Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin （陳惠欣） said via telephone.

To cope with the service sector’s strong recovery, local hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, retailers and other service providers increased their workforce by 6,000 compared with April, Chen said.

The number of workers in the sector was 148,000 higher than in May last year, DGBAS data showed.

However, an uptrend in the number of people who cannot find work because of economic factors has caught the agency’s attention, Chen said.

“We are closely monitoring whether the number keeps increasing and reaches a critical point. If that happens, it would indicate that the economy is facing a growing downside risk,” Chen said. “To cope with sluggish demand, businesses usually reduce staff working hours, rather than cutting jobs.”

The number of people who cannot find work because of economic factors climbed for a fourth straight month to 221,000 last month, slightly exceeding the average range of 180,000 to 200,000 that has been recorded since the indicator was created in 2019, Chen said.

People who cannot find a job that offers more than 35 working hours a week, or those who cannot find work due to seasonal factors also fall in this category.

Last month, the industrial sector had 1,000 fewer workers than in April, better matching macroeconomic conditions, Chen said.

On an annual basis, the number of workers shrank by 7,000, DGBAS data showed.

The nation’s economy is losing steam as reflected by weak export orders, which have plummeted for 12 months in a row.

The central bank earlier this month trimmed its GDP growth forecast from 2.21 percent to an annual expansion of 1.72 percent. To support the economy, the central bank stopped raising key interest rates after five quarters of increases.

The unemployment rate usually increases in June, July and August due to an influx of graduates, Chen said.

The unemployment rate in June usually increases about 0.06 to 0.07 percentage points from May, she said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES