Jobless rate increases to record high in Taiwan
TAIWAN’S jobless rate hit a record high of 6.1 percent in July, authorities said yesterday, as new graduates entered the job market and started to look for work amid a recession.
A total of 663,000 people were unemployed, up from 647,000 in June. It was the third straight month Taiwan’s unemployment rate hit a record high.
The loss of temporary jobs was another factor for rising unemployment, authorities said.
Taiwan’s economy contracted 7.5 percent in the second quarter, and the government has predicted gross domestic product to shrink 4 percent this year.
A devastating typhoon this month has resulted in more than US$2 billion in farm and property damage, but its impact on the economy will be offset by huge government reconstruction spending, officials said.
Taiwan approved a NT$100 billion (US$3 billion) rebuilding fund to be spent over the next three years.