Taiwan unemployment rate tops 5% in May

Asian Economic News, June 24, 2002

TAIPEI, June 21 Kyodo

Taiwan's jobless rate rose slightly in May to again top 5%, the government's chief statistician said Friday.

In April the jobless rate had fallen below the 5% mark for the first time in nine months.

The unadjusted unemployment stood at 5.02% in May, up 0.04 percentage point from the previous month but up 0.8 percentage point on the year, as 499,000 people were out of work.

Adjusted for seasonal changes, the jobless rate stood at a higher 5.19%, down 0.06 percentage point from the previous month, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said.

Year on year, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose 0.83 percentage point.

Of those 88,000 people who lost their jobs over the past 12 months, the lion's share -- 58,000 -- were thrown out of work due to business closures and reduced production in a sluggish economy.

Just 25,000 had quit their jobs out of dissatisfaction to look for work somewhere else.

Average unemployment for the January-May period stood at 5.08%, up 1.25 percentage points from the same period last year.

As the export-oriented island posted its first-ever negative annual growth last year, unemployment skyrocketed, topping 5% for the first time ever in August last year before peaking at an all-time high of 5.33% in October.

With economic growth rebounding to positive growth of 0.89% in the January-March first quarter and forecast to reach 2.5-3% for this year, jobless figures are expected to improve somewhat later this year.

A wave of first-time job seekers entering the labor market this summer, however, is expected to push up unemployment figures temporarily in the short term.