Taiwan jobless rate edges up as graduates enter labor market

Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) Taiwan's unemployment rate rose for the third consecutive month in August as more first-time jobseekers entered the labor market after graduating, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Tuesday.

The jobless rate edged up 0.02 percentage points from July to 3.41 percent, its highest level since August 2025, when it stood at 3.45 percent. Nevertheless, the rate was still the lowest recorded for August in 26 years.

After seasonal adjustments, the unemployment rate fell 0.01 percentage points from July to 3.32 percent, the data showed.

In the first eight months of 2026, the unemployment rate averaged 3.33 percent, down 0.02 percentage points from a year earlier, the DGBAS said.

The number of unemployed people rose by 2,000, or 0.63 percent, from July to 411,000 in August, as the number of first-time jobseekers increased by 3,000, according to the agency.

Meanwhile, employment grew by 4,000, or 0.03 percent, to 11.66 million, while the labor force participation rate rose 0.03 percentage points from July to 59.66 percent.

Tan Wen-ling (譚文玲), deputy director of the DGBAS Census Department, told reporters that the increase in the August jobless rate largely reflected seasonal factors.

She said the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate had declined, while employment and labor force participation had increased. In the month, the number of employed people grew and the labor force participation rate reached their highest August levels in 32 years.

Taken together, the latest employment figures indicated that Taiwan's labor market remained stable, Tan said.

By education level, people with a university degree had the highest unemployment rate at 4.56 percent in August, followed by people with a senior high school education at 3.13 percent and those with a junior high school education at 2.01 percent, the DGBAS said.

The unemployment rate among people aged 15-24 stood at 11.74 percent, reflecting the large number of first-time jobseekers in that age group. The rate was 5.88 percent for those aged 25-29 and 3.35 percent for those aged 30-34.

DGBAS data also showed that 119,000 people were classified as time-related underemployed workers in August, down 3,000, or 2.62 percent, from July and 2,000, or 1.92 percent, from a year earlier.

From January to August, the number of time-related underemployed workers averaged 119,000, up 4,000, or 3.79 percent, from a year earlier, the agency's data showed.

The International Labour Organization defines time-related underemployment as a situation in which people work fewer hours than they would like and are willing and available to work more.