October unemployment drops to 3.9%

December 7, 2006

Taiwan's unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in Oct, the lowest for this period in six years, according to the Directorate General of Accounting, Budget, and Statistics (DGBAS).

According to figures from a human resources survey conducted by DGBAS, there were 413,000 persons unemployed in Oct., a decrease of 6,000 people from the previous month.

Huang Jiann-jong, the deputy director of DGBAS Bureau of Census, said that unemployment for 2006 could very well remain under 4%. The average unemployment rate last year was 4.13%.

Huang attributed the drop in the jobless rate to growth in the industrial, manufacturing, and wholesale retail and dining sectors.

The domestic manufacturing and construction businesses are thriving, said Huang, who cited increases of 6.6% on DGBAS' industrial production index, 6.67% for its manufacturing index, and 12% for its real estate construction and engineering index from Jan. to Sept. this year.

While domestic spending has declined, with department store revenues dipping this year by 2.37%, chain superstores have seen a turnaround in revenues, which have increased by 9.26%, Huang said.

This turnaround has also spurned a 7.41% increase in Oct. revenues for the wholesale, retail, and dining business, which has seen a 6.56% increase over 2005, said Huang, who believes that this has been an important factor for the stability of the overall job market.

(Economic Daily News, Taipei Times)

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