Number of furloughed workers down due to export order recovery

Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) The number of workers in formal furlough programs in Taiwan fell in the first half of August on the back of a recovery in export orders, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Monday.

Data compiled by the MOL showed the number of furloughed workers in Taiwan fell by 620 from the end of July to 2,406 as of Aug. 15, while the number of employers implementing unpaid leave programs dropped by 64 to 181 in the same period.

Speaking with CNA, Wang Chin-jung (王金蓉), deputy head of the MOL's Labor Conditions and Equal Employment Division, said the decline reflected an increase in export orders, prompting 77 manufacturers to terminate their furlough plans ahead of schedule, placing about 866 workers back on production lines during the 15-day period.

The firms in the manufacturing sector that ended their furlough programs in the first half of this year were largely small and medium-sized enterprises with a workforce of less than 100, Wang said.

However, the manufacturing sector still reported the largest number of furloughed workers in the first half of August among the country's major business sectors amid U.S. tariff policies, with 134 employers reporting 2,167 furloughed workers, which accounted for about 90 percent of the total, Wang added.

In the manufacturing sector, the metal and electric machinery industry reported the largest number of furloughed workers, at 1,727, as of Aug. 15, down from 2,276 on July 31, with the number of firms having furlough programs in the industry also falling from 139 to 90, the data showed.

The impact from U.S. tariff policies has gradually eased, Wang said, citing the number of furloughed workers affected by the tariffs, which dropped by 611 in the 15-day period to 1,953 as of Aug. 15.

The service sector stayed stable with the number of furloughed workers in the retail and wholesale business falling from 242 at the end of July to 204 as of Aug. 15, while the number of furloughed workers in the lodging and food/beverage industry also fell from 21 to four, the data indicated.

Since February, the number of furloughed workers nationwide has gradually fallen to around 2,000, indicating the job market has stabilized, Wang said.

Currently, the MOL updates its furloughed worker data on the 1st and 16th of each month and reports the number of employees placed on unpaid leave by companies registered with the ministry.

Most enterprises implementing furlough programs are small firms that employ fewer than 50 people, according to the MOL.

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