Taiwan unemployment holds steady at 3.84%

Unemployment in Taiwan held largely steady in January at 3.84 per cent, in line with economists’ estimates.

The seasonably adjusted jobless rate was up marginally from December’s rate of 3.82 per cent. This was in line with a median economist estimate of 3.8 per compiled by Bloomberg.

Taiwan had 445,000 unemployed people in January and a labour force participation rate of 58.79 per cent.

Total employment increased by 5,000 compared to December and was up 76,000 compared to the previous year.

The country faces an ageing population with the proportion of people aged between 15-64 having reached its peak in 2012 and the old-age population expected to exceed that of the young population this year, according to the National Development Council. Taiwan forecasts it will be a “super-aged” society in 2026 as 20 per cent of the population will be over 65.

However last year saw a recovery in economic growth as Taiwan’s GDP expanded 2.88 per cent year on year in the three months to December, with GDP expected to grow by 1.92 per cent in 2017.