CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan's jobless rate drops as COVID-19 abates

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) The unemployment rate in Taiwan fell slightly in June amid an improved job market, as COVID-19 infections slowed in the country, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Wednesday.

DGBAS data showed that the jobless rate in June was 3.96 percent, down 0.11 percentage points from a month earlier, as domestic business activities picked up after months of slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was the first time in 29 years that Taiwan registered a drop in unemployment in the month of June, when new graduates usually flood the job market, the DGBAS said.

After seasonal adjustment, the local jobless rate was 3.97 percent in June, down 0.19 percentage points, the data showed.

The number of people out of work fell 13,000, or 2.69 percent, in June from a month earlier to 473,000, while the number of employed rose 15,000, or 0.13 percent, to 11.48 million, according to the DBGAS data.

The labor participation rate for June was 59.07 percent, up 0.01 percentage points from May, the data showed.

The DGBAS said the number of first-time jobseekers in June rose 6,000 from a month earlier, while the number of those who quit to look for another job and those who lost their jobs due to business closures or downsizing dropped by about 10,000.

In June, the unemployment rate among people with a university degree was 5.43 percent, the highest among all education groups, according to the DGBAS.

Among those with a graduate degree, the figure was 3.28 percent, and among people with only a high school diploma the jobless rate was 3.75 percent, the DGBAS said.

By age, the June unemployment rate for individuals aged 20-24 was 12.01 percent, while the jobless rate was 7.71 percent among people aged 15-19, and 6.58 percent in the 25-29 age group, the DGBAS said.

In the first six months of the year, Taiwan's average jobless rate stood at 3.85 percent, up 0.17 percentage points from a year earlier, while its average labor participation rate was 59.11 percent, up 0.03 percentage points from a year earlier, the DGBAS said.