Taiwan's August Jobless Rate Hits 14-Year Low for Same Month at 4.08%
2014/09/30 | By Judy LiTaiwan's jobless rate was 4.08% in August, slightly up over 4.02% of a month earlier, yet the lowest for the month in 14 years, with the 2014 percentage very likely to be under 4%, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
In the first eight months the average unemployment rate stood at 3.99%, a new six-year low for the same period, with the percentage of those with college-and-above credentials down to a six-year low of 4.98%, despite the percentage in August being 5.33%.
In August the jobless rate of those aged 15-24 reached 13.25%, down 0.81 of a percentage point from a year earlier; and the corresponding percentage of those aged 25-29 came to 6.93%, down slightly from a month earlier.
In the same month the unemployed population caused by business closures and downsizing declined to 126,000 persons from 140,000 persons recorded earlier this year. Compared to the previous month, manufacturing added 5,000 employees and wholesale & retail added 6,000 workers.
In July the average monthly regular pay in Taiwan rose an annual 2.33%, the highest monthly growth since March 2012. In the first seven months the average regular monthly pay rose an annual 1.58%, higher than last year's 0.77%. In the same period, excluding inflation, the real monthly pay averaged NT$36.693 (US$1,223), still lower than that of 15 years ago.
The financial & insurance sector boasted the highest annual growth of 13.68% in regular pay in July and in the first seven months the percentage stood at 7.18%, also the highest. (JL)
| Annual Growth of Regular Pay in Taiwan (July & First 7 Months) Unit: % | |||||||
|
| Overall
| Manufac-turing
| Wholesale & retail
| Accommodation & catering
| Financial & insurance
| Real estate
| Educational service
|
| July
| 2.33
| 1.41
| 2.06
| 3.04
| 13.68
| -2.27
| 4.9
|
| First 7 months
| 1.58
| 1.36
| 1.25
| 4.31
| 7.18
| 0.82
| 4.37
|