Unemployment rate drops to 25-year low in 2025

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) Taiwan's unemployment rate fell to 3.35 percent in 2025, the lowest level in 25 years, down 0.03 percentage points from 2024, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

In a report released Thursday, the agency said the unemployment rate in December 2025 stood at 3.30 percent, also the lowest December reading in 25 years, and is forecast to decline further in January.

Those out of work in December fell by 3,000 to 398,000, as job losses due to workplace contractions or closures declined by about 2,000, the DGBAS said.

For the full year, the average number of unemployed stood at 403,000, a year-on-year decrease of 3,000.

Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲), deputy director of the DGBAS Census Department, said the unemployment rate is expected to continue dropping in January as the Lunar New Year holiday boosts consumer spending.

She added that while the United States' indication that it will cut tariffs on Taiwanese goods to 15 percent without cumulative stacking is good news for traditional industries, global overcapacity remains a concern and warrants close monitoring of broader economic developments.

Regarding time-related underemployment, which climbed to a peak of 129,000 people in September 2025, DGBAS data showed that it dropped for two consecutive months before climbing by 3,000 people to 127,000 people in December.

Tan said the increase may be due to tariff uncertainties, global overcapacity in traditional industries, as well as agricultural fallowing during the winter.

Time-related underemployment refers to workers whose hours are under 35 hours per week, despite their willingness and capacity to do so.

Tan also noted that the labor force participation rate reached a 36-year high of 59.43 percent last year, reflecting increased workforce participation by women over recent decades as well as government efforts to raise the rate through measures such as policies promoting employment among middle-aged and elderly workers.

Starting in January 2026, the DGBAS will also compile unemployment rates of the national resident population to better reflect the actual labor market, Tan added.