More workers on furlough in second half of last month

Staff writer, with CNA

The number of workers put on unpaid leave in the second half of last month increased from the first half, reflecting a continued economic slowdown, government statistics showed on Friday.

Citing the data, the Ministry of Labor said there were 658 workers on furlough as of the end of last month, up from 503 on June 15.

According to the data, 26 employers sent workers on furlough programs in the second half of last month, up from 24 recorded earlier in the month.

During the period from June 16 to Thursday, three employers terminated their unpaid leave programs, but five others imposed mandatory furlough on their employees, the data showed.

Twice a month, the government releases data on furloughs to provide updates about the nation’s labor market, particularly in light of declining exports amid weak global demand.

As exports are the backbone of the nation’s economy, weak outbound sales have forced some Taiwanese exporters to impose furlough programs.

The nation recorded a year-on-year fall in exports for the 16th consecutive month in May.

As a result, several local think tanks have cut their forecasts of Taiwan’s GDP growth for this year to less than 1 percent.

Academia Sinica on Wednesday cut its projection for Taiwan’s yearly economic growth by 1.22 percentage points to 0.52 percent.

In the second half of last month, most of the companies with furloughed workers were small enterprises in the metal and electromechanical industries with a workforce of less than 50 employees, the ministry said.

On average, employees are asked to take unpaid leave for four to eight days per month, the ministry said.

The government has launched a NT$20 billion (US$621 million) program to offer training to affected employees to upgrade their job skills, the ministry added.

Under the program, the trainees receive a stipend of NT$100 per hour to help with their living expenses, up to a maximum of NT$12,000 per month, the ministry said.