Taiwan's jobless rate dips to 23-year low in 2023

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) Taiwan's jobless rate fell to the lowest level in 23 years after the unemployment rate moved lower than a month earlier for the fourth consecutive month in December, indicating a stable job market in the country, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Monday.

Data compiled by the DGBAS showed the December jobless rate fell 0.01 percentage points from a month earlier to 3.33 percent, while unemployment for 2023 as a whole was 3.48 percent, the lowest level since 2000, when the jobless rate stood at 2.99 percent, and fell 0.19 percentage points from a year earlier.

However, after seasonal adjustments, the December unemployment rate rose 0.03 percentage points from November to 3.40 percent, the data indicated.

In December, the number of unemployed hit 399,000, down 1,000 or 0.25 percent from a year earlier, while the number of employed stood at 11.58 million, up 6,000 or 0.05 percent from a month earlier, with the labor participation rate at 59.26 percent, little changed from November.

The DGBAS said the fall in the number of unemployed in December was largely attributable to the fact that the number of those who lost their jobs due to business downsizing and closures fell 6,000 from a month earlier. However, the number of those who quit and looked for a new job rose 3,000 from the previous month.

Speaking with reporters, DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said the number of employed in the local service sector rose 128,000 from a year earlier on the back of strong manpower demand amid growing domestic consumption in the post COVID-19 era.

In contrast, the number of employed in the export-oriented manufacturing sector fell 11,000 from a year earlier in the wake of global demand weakness, Chen said.

Based on the jobless rate in 2023, Chen said, the local job market remained stable despite a weaker economy.

In 2023, the number of employed stood at 11.53 million, up 110,000 or 0.96 percent from a year earlier with the labor participation rate at 59.22 percent, up 0.04 percentage points from 2022, according to the DGBAS.

By education level, the unemployment rate among those with a university degree was 4.80 percent in 2023, the highest among all educational levels, the DGBAS said.

The rate for individuals with a senior high school or junior high school education was 3.20 percent with the jobless rate among people from graduate schools at 2.74 percent, the DGBAS added.

By age, the unemployment rate for those aged 20-24 in 2023 was 11.76 percent because of the high concentration of first-time jobseekers in the age group, but was only 5.99 percent for those aged 25-29, the data showed.

In addition, the jobless rate for those aged 15-19 was 8.39 percent in 2023, the DGBAS said.

The jobless rate among the 22 counties and cities around Taiwan ranged from 3.3 percent and 3.5 percent in 2023. Due to an increase in domestic demand in the post COVID-19 era, the jobless rate in these counties and cities fell 0.1-0.3 percentage points from a year earlier.