Most employers in Taiwan plan to hire new workers in Q4: poll

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) About 70 percent of employers in Taiwan intend to recruit new workers in the fourth quarter of the year, as the domestic economy seems to be stabilizing amid the country's effective efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the online job bank 1111.

Citing a survey, the job bank said that although the fourth quarter is usually a slow season in the job market, a higher percentage of employers plan to hire in the fourth quarter than they did in the peak second and third quarters, when the ratio was 66 percent and 67 percent, respectively.

Henry Ho (何啟聖), head of the job bank's media center, said local employment was affected by the pandemic in the second and third quarters, and hiring was postponed to the fourth quarter.

In Taiwan, many employees prefer not to change jobs in the fourth quarter of the year, before year-end bonuses are paid, while recruitment usually spikes in the second and third quarters as first-time jobseekers jump into the market, the job bank said.

According to the survey, among the 70 percent employers who are planning to hire in the fourth quarter, those in the construction and property industry seem most eager, as the housing market has been showing signs of improving.

In September, transactions of homes, shops, offices and factories in Taiwan rose more than 36 percent from a year earlier to 243,000 units, the job bank said.

The poll also showed that employers in the service sector, in particular restaurant operators, are also keen to recruit new workers, as domestic consumption has been increasing since the government issued NT$50 billion (US$1.72 billion) in stimulus vouchers to citizens in July to help alleviate the economic impact of the pandemic.

In the information and communications technology industry, employers are looking to hire in the fourth quarter, given Taiwan's entry into the 5G era, Ho said.

The emerging technology has created new jobs in a wide range of segments such as semiconductors, small base stations, the Internet of Things, smart machinery and long distance medical care, he said.

While manpower demand is rising, however, 73 percent of employers in Taiwan are worried about finding the right workers for their businesses, according to the poll.

The survey, conducted Oct. 12-16, collected 874 valid questionnaires, the job bank said.