The statistics office is reporting negative economic growth of -0.84% for the first quarter of 2016.
This is the third consecutive quarter of contraction for Taiwan’s economy. Taiwan is also in the second longest slump since the 2008 financial crisis, when the economy shrunk for five quarters in a row.
The statistics office says that despite the numbers, the economy has actually shown signs of improvement when adjusted for seasonal fluctuation. The office says that domestic consumption is at its best in the past five quarters and the economy is not at risk of slipping into a recession.
The office says that the question of whether economic growth will break 1% this year will depend on the global economy.