Jobless rate edged down to 3.87% in March

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on April 27, 2006. It reports that Taiwan's jobless rate stood at 3.87 percent in March 2006. According to the government's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, this was the fourth consecutive month that the rate has been lower than 4 percent.

Officials attributed the low jobless rate to Taiwan's stable economic growth and rising demand in the job market. In March 2006 alone, the employed population stood at 404,000 persons, about 4,000 persons less from a month earlier.

Some financial institutions have cut staff at their consumer financial businesses, as a result of the recent spate of unrecoverable credit card debt. However, the number of jobless persons in Taiwan has continued to rise. From December 2005 to February 2006, the total number of employees in Taiwan's banking system dropped by at least 1,000 persons.

According to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the jobless rate is likely to keep falling in April 2006. However, it may slowly go up again in May, when a wave of job-seekers will hit the market after students graduate from high schools and universities.