Number of furloughed workers falls by over 2,000 to 3-month low

Taipei, Dec. 17 (CNA) The number of workers on formal unpaid leave programs fell more than 2,000 in the first half of this month to a three-month low because of an increase in rush orders, according to the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

Data released by the MOL on Tuesday showed the total number of furloughed workers in Taiwan fell 2,035 from the end of November to 7,118 as of Dec. 15, the lowest level since Sept. 15.

The number of employers implementing unpaid leave programs also fell by 78 during the 15-day period to 378, the data indicated.

Unpaid leave or furlough programs registered with the MOL typically last for less than three months, with employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, according to the agency.

Speaking with reporters, Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅), head of the MOL's Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, said 11 companies labor workforce of which topped 50 each, received rush orders, helping return 1,115 of their employees back to production lines during the latest reporting period.

Huang said, however, that it will be worth watching whether the overall job market will continue to improve given the potential adverse impact of U.S. tariff policies.

The vast majority of workers in unpaid leave programs as Dec. 15 was in the export-oriented manufacturing sector, totaling 6,667 people, or about 93 percent of the total, Huang said.

That indicated that some manufacturers were still feeling the pinch of U.S. tariffs, according to Huang.

Of that group, 5,014 furloughed workers were in the traditional metal and electric machinery industry, which has been hit both by tariffs and a fall-off in global demand.

Despite the fall in workers on unpaid leave during the 15-day period, Huang said, the latest figure was still much higher than the 1,993 workers on furloughs recorded at the end of March before the White House announced its tariffs in early April.

The local domestic demand-oriented service sector stayed stable in the 15-day period, the data showed.

As of Monday, the number of furloughed workers in the wholesale and retail industry rose slightly to 329 from 316 at the end of November, while the transportation and warehousing industry reported only four furloughed workers, down from 13, according to the MOL.

The MOL updates its furloughed worker data on the 1st and 16th of every month and reports on the number of employees placed on furloughs registered by companies with the ministry.

Most of the enterprises implementing furlough programs are small companies that employ fewer than 50 people.