TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) - The unemployment rate came in at 3.94 pct in February,
up from 3.80 pct in January and up from 3.78 pct during the same month a year
earlier, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS)
said.
In the first two months of the year, unemployment averaged 3.87 pct, up from
3.79 pct in the year-earlier period, it said.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the February unemployment rate came in at
3.95 pct, unchanged from the previous month but up from 3.88 pct a year earlier,
it added.
The DGBAS said 424,000 people were jobless in February, a rise of 13,000
from the month before.
A major contributor to the increase was a rise of 6,000 in the number of
those who lost their jobs due to business closures or cutbacks and 4,000 in the
number of jobless due to termination of seasonal or temporary jobs.
Major declines included 2,000 in the number of first-time job seekers
freshly out of school who failed to find work.
On a year-on-year basis, the total number of jobless people in February rose
by 22,000, it added.
The DGBAS said that in February, the eligible workforce fell by 0.26 pct
from the month before but was up by 1.20 pct from a year earlier to 10.77 mln.
The February labor participation ratio was 58.11 pct, down from 58.32 pct in
the previous month and down from 58.14 pct a year earlier, the DGBAS said.
In the first two months of the year, the labor participation ratio averaged
58.21 pct, rising from 58.15 pct a year earlier, it added.
adela.lin@afxasia.com
xfnal/xfnkm
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