Taipei, Oct. 23 (CNA) The unemployment rate for Taiwan in September moved lower as the number of people who quit their jobs or were laid off during the month was down from a month earlier.
The number of first-time jobseekers still looking for work was also down in September as more university graduates were able to land jobs, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Monday.
The nominal unemployment rate, which is more sensitive to seasonal trends such as new graduates entering the workforce or increased hiring during holidays, was 3.77 percent in September, down 0.12 percentage points from August and down 0.22 percentage points year-on-year, the DGBAS said.
Removing the seasonal effects, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate in September fell 0.05 percentage points from August to 3.71 percent, DGBAS figures showed.
There were 445,000 people unemployed in September, down 16,000, or 3.43 percent, from August, while the number of those who were employed totaled 11.37 million, down 11,000, or 0.10 percent, from a month earlier, the DGBAS added.
The data showed the number of first-time jobseekers looking for work fell 7,000 in September from a month earlier as many graduates began finding jobs.
There were also 4,000 fewer people who quit their jobs and 3,000 fewer people who were laid off in September than in the previous month because of the recovering local economy, the data showed.
By age, the unemployment rate for those 15-19 was 8.41 percent, with most of them unemployed first-time jobseekers, while the jobless rate for people 20-24 was 12.70 percent because of the high turnover among young workers looking for a workplace they really like, the DGBAS said.
The jobless rate for people holding a college or higher degree was 5.22 percent, the highest among all education groups, the DGBAS added.
The labor participation rate of September was 58.86 percent, down 0.15 percentage points from a month earlier but up 0.07 percentage points from a year earlier.
In the first nine months of the year, Taiwan's jobless rate averaged 3.78 percent, down 0.16 percentage points from a year earlier, while the labor participation rate averaged 58.80 percent, up 0.08 percentage points from a year earlier, the DGBAS said.
(By Chen Cheng-wei and Frances Huang)
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