The number of companies placing employees on unpaid leave as well as the total number of furloughed workers are both rising. That’s the word from Taiwan’s Labor Ministry on Wednesday.
The ministry says the number of enterprises lowering their personnel-hours increased by over 120, putting close to 1000 additional workers on furlough. Close to 2,300 companies in Taiwan currently use furloughing as a cost-saving measure. A total of over 15,000 of their employees are on a forced break from work.
Ministry official Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛) says that despite the overall increase in furloughs, some companies are ending the measure. But an overall improvement in employment numbers would depend heavily on global economic conditions. Government figures show Taiwan’s exports have fallen for four straight months starting last September.
Huang says retail, hospitality, and restaurant industries as well as travel agencies have particularly seen a rise in furloughs. Huang adds despite the eagerness of Taiwanese tourists to travel abroad, the number of visitors to Taiwan is still only a third of pre-pandemic levels, hurting these sectors.