Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/03/2021
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Chiang Yi-ching

Taipei, Jan. 3 (CNA) The slow growth of Taiwan's workforce in 2020 can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the country's low fertility rate, according to an official from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

Data released by the DGBAS in late December shows that the number of people in Taiwan's workforce, which is defined as individuals over the age of 15 who are employed or searching for work, averaged 11.964 million from January to November 2020.

This represented growth of 0.16 percent from the same period in 2019 and is the lowest growth level ever recorded for that time frame, Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣), deputy director of the DGBAS' Department of Census, told CNA.

The growth in Taiwan's workforce has slowed over the past few years due to the country's low fertility rate and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem further last year, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]