Taiwan's jobless rate falls for 2nd straight month in May

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) Taiwan's jobless rate fell for the second consecutive month in May on the back of a decline in the number of people who lost jobs due to business downsizing or closures, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Tuesday.

Data compiled by the DGBAS showed the local unemployment rate fell 0.03 percentage points from April to 3.27 percent in May, the lowest level for the month since May 2000, when the jobless rate stood at 2.78 percent.

After seasonal adjustments, the May jobless rate also fell 0.02 percentage points from a month earlier to 3.32 percent.

In the first five months, Taiwan's jobless averaged 3.30 percent, down 0.02 percentage points from a year earlier, the DGBAS said.

In May, the number of unemployed fell 4,000 or 0.99 percent from a month earlier to 393,000, while the number of employed rose 2,000 or 0.02 percent to 11.63 million, with the labor participation rate at 59.50 percent, down 0.02 percentage points from April, the DGBAS said.

According to the DGBAS, the number of those who lost jobs due to business downsizing and closures fell 2,000 from a month earlier to 93,000 in May, the lowest level this year, serving as a driver to the fall in unemployment in May.

In addition, the number of first-time jobseekers also fell 1,000 from a month earlier, the DGBAS said.

DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲) told reporters the latest jobless rate showed Taiwan had a stable job market which enabled more jobseekers to find jobs, adding that the data indicated the local economy remained sound.

By education level, those with a university degree had the highest unemployment rate at 4.35 percent in May, while the jobless rate was 3.11 percent for individuals with a senior high school education and 1.94 percent for those with a junior high school education, the DGBAS added.

In addition, unemployment among the 15-24 age group was 11.14 percent in May due to the high concentration of first-time job seekers, while the rate was 5.79 percent for the 25-29 age group and 3.30 percent for the 30-34 age group, the DGBAS added.

The jobless rate in June could pick up as new graduates enter the market and such a trend is expected to continue and peak in August before falling in September, Tan said.