MANY FACTORS: Corporate downsizing and closures resulted in 1,000 people losing their jobs last month, but the working population also rose 0.2 percent month-on-month

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 23, 2019
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The unemployment rate last month rose to 3.82 percent, an increase of 0.09 percentage points from June, as corporate downsizing affected job opportunities for new graduates, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said yesterday.

The number is the highest in 11 months and 0.01 percentage points higher than a year earlier, suggesting that the job market is stable, despite a seasonal pickup and an economic slowdown, Census Department Deputy Director Pan Ning-hsin (潘寧馨) said.

“The local job market, while not spared from the impact of the economic slowdown, was somewhat unscathed,” Pan said, adding that unemployment after seasonal adjustments stood at 3.72 percent, down 0.02 percentage points from a month earlier.

For the past five years, the jobless rate has climbed 0.23 to 0.28 percentage points from June to August, owing to college graduates entering the market, Pan said.    [FULL  STORY]