Taiwan reports 276,000 job vacancies, manufacturing hit hardest

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) Taiwan had 276,000 job vacancies as of the end of March, with the manufacturing sector facing the largest shortfall, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Monday in releasing the results of its first nationwide vacancy survey.

The survey, launched in April amid labor shortages linked to Taiwan's declining birth rate, found an overall vacancy rate of 3.1 percent as of March 31.

Of the total openings, 114,000 (41.3 percent) were in industry and 162,000 (58.7 percent) in services, with vacancy rates of 3.2 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, the survey showed.

Manufacturing accounted for 92,000 vacancies, or 33.5 percent, followed by wholesale and retail trade with 47,000 (16.9 percent) and accommodation and food services with 25,000 (9.1 percent).

Together, those three sectors made up nearly 60 percent of all unfilled jobs, the survey indicated.

In addition, construction, healthcare and social work each reported more than 16,000 vacancies.

Among major industries, the highest vacancy rate was in the accommodation and food services at 4.4 percent, while manufacturing matched the national average.

Most openings were for full-time roles, totaling 253,000, compared with 23,000 part-time jobs. Full-time positions dominated in construction, real estate, and manufacturing, while accommodation and food services had the lowest share at 66.6 percent.

By occupation, professionals made up the largest group with 65,000 vacancies (25.7 percent), followed by machine operators and assemblers at 60,000 (23.8 percent), and technicians and associate professionals at 53,000 (20.8 percent).

Nearly half of the jobs were at supervisory or skilled technical levels, while only 4.6 percent were in low-skilled labor.

Recruitment times averaged 3.5 months, according to the survey.

About half of full-time jobs were filled within one to three months, but 12.8 percent remained open for more than six months. Hiring was slowest in construction, transportation, and other services, where vacancies took 4.4 months on average.

By job type, machine operators and low-skilled workers were the hardest to recruit, averaging more than four months, while clerical positions were filled fastest at 2.3 months.