Job opening rate in lodging, food/beverage hits 25-year high

Taipei, Dec. 30 (CNA) The job opening rate in Taiwan's lodging and food/beverage industry as of the end of August hit a new high in 25 years as domestic spending remained solid in the post COVID-19 era, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

Citing a survey, the DGBAS said the job opening rate in the lodging and food/beverage industry stood at 4.3 percent at the end of August, up from 3.07 percent as of February and 4.10 percent at the end of August 2022.

DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said the job opening rate in the industry tended to range between 3.5 percent and 3.6 percent in the past, but a spike in manpower demand related to the strong post COVID-19 consumption pushed up the ratio to a 25-year high.

The DGBAS conducts the survey twice a year, and releases the results in February and August.

The DGBAS's data showed the number of job openings in the lodging and food/beverage industry stood at 22,563 at the end of August, up 7,003 from the end of February and up 1,908 from a year earlier.

At the end of August, job openings among food/beverage firms rose to 18,438 from 11,824 as of February and from 16,006 as of August 2022, with the job opening rate rising to 4.27 percent from 2.83 percent as of February and from 3.86 percent as of August 2022.

The DGBAS said job openings among lodging operators rose to 4,125 as of the August, up from 3,736 at the end of February and from 4,649 a year earlier, with the job opening rate rising to 4.45 percent from 4.17 percent at the end of February and from 5.21 percent a year earlier.

The agency said the fluctuations in job opening rate reflected the fundamentals in an industry. As the conditions improve, the ratio will grow on the back of growing demand for manpower and vice versa, it said.

Bucking the upturn, the job opening rate in the exports-oriented manufacturing sector fell to 2.55 percent as of the end of August as Taiwan's outbound sales remained haunted by weakness in global demand. The rate was down from 2.65 percent at the end of February and 2.60 percent a year earlier due to a fall in manpower demand, the DGBAS's data showed.

In the manufacturing sector, the job opening rate in the electronics component industry and the computer and optoelectronics industry fell to 2.20 percent and 2.82 percent, respectively, from 2.42 percent and 3.12 percent at the end of February and from 2.51 percent and 3.13 percent a year earlier, the data indicated.

As of the end of August, the job opening rate in the industrial and service sectors stood at 2.81 percent, up from 2.57 percent at the end of February and 2.73 percent as of August 2022, according to the DGBAS.

The DGBAS said job openings in the industrial and service sectors stood at 236,679 as of the end of August, compared with 215,729 at the end of February and 230,255 by the end of August 2022.