Taiwan unemployment hits record 5.81pc
Taiwan's unemployment rate rose to a record 5.81 percent last month as businesses slashed jobs in the ongoing recession, the government said Wednesday.
March unemployment was up from 5.75 percent the previous month and was 1.95 percentage points higher than a year earlier, said the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the jobless rate stood at 5.72 percent in March, up 0.09 of a percentage point from February, the cabinet-level agency said.
The number of people out of work rose to 630,000, up 6,000 from a month earlier, it said. Some 15,000 lost their jobs due to business downsizing and closures during the month.
People losing temporary or seasonal work dropped 5,000, and the number of first-time job seekers and those resigning their posts fell 4,000, the agency said.
Taiwan, Asia's sixth biggest economy, has been hit hard by the global financial crisis, with record falls in its key export sector, particularly at bellwether electronics firms.
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