November jobless rate drops to 3.36%, 3rd straight monthly fall

Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) Taiwan's jobless rate in November dropped by 0.04 percentage points from October to 3.36 percent, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Monday.

The figure represented a third consecutive monthly decline and the second-lowest level for the month in 24 years, after the 3.34 percent recorded in November 2023, DGBAS data showed.

In November, about 403,000 people were unemployed, a decline of 5,000 from October, according to the same statistics.

The unemployment rate averaged 3.39 percent during the first 11 months of the year, down by 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier.

In terms of educational background, graduates with a college diploma registered the highest jobless rate of 4.49 percent, followed by senior high school graduates (3.13 percent) and post-graduates (2.97 percent).

By age, unemployment among those aged 20-24 years old was the highest at 11.3 percent in November, mainly because most first-time job seekers fall in this bracket. Around 5.85 percent of those aged 25-29 were out of work, while 3.46 percent of people 30-34 years old were unemployed.

After seasonal adjustments, Taiwan's unemployment rate increased by 0.03 percentage points from October to 3.41 percent in November, compared with Canada's 6.8 percent, the United States' 4.2 percent, Hong Kong's 3.1 percent and South Korea's 2.7 percent, DGBAS data indicated.

Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲), deputy director of the agency's Census Department, noted that the figure is expected to continue to fall in December due to the traditional shopping spree ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year that falls in late January.