Taiwan's unemployment rate falls slightly to 3.38% in March

Taipei, April 22 (CNA) Taiwan's jobless rate dropped slightly to 3.38 percent in March, the lowest level for that month in 24 years, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Monday.

The country's jobless rate fell 0.01 percentage points from a month earlier to 3.38 percent in March, data compiled by the DGBAS showed.

The latest unemployment figure was the lowest recorded in March since 2000, when Taiwan saw its jobless rate reach 2.83 percent that month.

After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate was 3.40 percent in March, the same as in February, according to the data.

DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) attributed the lower jobless rate in March to people finding new work following post-Lunar New Year holiday job transitions.

Based on past trends, Taiwan's unemployment figure could further improve in April, with a decrease likely to range from 0.01 to 0.06 percentage points, Chen said.

In March, the number of unemployed stood at 405,000, down 1,000 from a month earlier, the data showed.

Of the 405,000, those who became unemployed due to business closures or downsizing fell by 2,000 to 99,000 in March.

That figure has been dropping steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic situation improved in Taiwan, Chen said, citing May and June 2021, when the number of people who lost their jobs due to business closures or cutbacks was 178,000 and 250,000, respectively.

The number of employees in the export-oriented manufacturing sector rose 3,000 from a month earlier in March, but was down 14,000 from a year earlier due to weakness in global demand, Chen said.

According to the DGBAS, the number of employed stood at 11.58 million in March, up 9,000 or 0.08 percent, from a month earlier, with the labor participation rate at 59.24 percent, up 0.03 percentage points from a month earlier.