Taipei, March 23 (CNA) The demand for workers in Taiwan's manufacturing sector rose more than 11 percent from a month earlier in February due to efforts by tech firms to expand their investments in 5G technology, according to the Ministry of Labor's Workforce Development Agency (WDA).
Data compiled by the WDA showed companies in the manufacturing sector registered their plans on the agency's recruitment website -- TaiwanJobs -- in February to hire a total of 37,148 new employees, up 11.8 percent from a month earlier.
The growth in manpower demand from the manufacturing sector topped that of other major industrial sectors in Taiwan in February, the WDA said.
It added that the increase in the number of new employees the sector wants to hire was triggered by rising demand from the computer, electronics and optoelectronics segment on expectations that the commencement of 5G technology in 2020 will create plenty of business opportunities.
In addition, demand for Internet-based communications devices was on the rise, boosting manpower demand from the segment, the WDA said.
In February, the computer, electronics and optoelectronics segment added 2,697 new jobs on the TaiwanJobs recruitment website, up 39.02 percent from a month earlier, the data showed.
Among the tech firms which had hiring plans, expecting a booming 5G ecology, Accton Technology Corp., one of the leading Internet connection device providers in Taiwan, registered with TaiwanJobs in February to hire more than 400 new workers, including surface mount technology and maintenance engineers.
The WDA said Accton provides 10-month maternity leave for new mothers to create an employee-friendly working environment.
In addition, printed circuit board maker Unimicron Technology Corp. also wanted to hire more than 500 newcomers, including production and quality control engineers and technicians, the WDA said.
However, overall job growth for the economy as a whole fell in February.
Last month, the number of new jobs registered on the TaiwanJobs website totaled 89,426, down 1.58 percent from a month earlier, while a total of 51,117 jobseekers signed up on the website, down 9.46 percent from a month earlier.
The figures mean 1.75 new jobs for each of the jobseekers in February on average, the WDA said.
In February, the jobless rate in Taiwan stood at 3.72 percent, up 0.08 percentage points from a month earlier, but after seasonal adjustments, the February rate fell 0.01 percent from a month earlier to 3.71 percent.
The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said the decline in the seasonally adjusted figure shows that the local job market remained stable, although the pace of domestic economic growth showed signs of slowing.
(By Yu Hsiao-han and Frances Huang)
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