The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics announced today (22nd) the latest labor market data, revealing that the unemployment rate in March climbed to 3.35%, a slight increase of 0.01 percentage points from February, marking two consecutive months of increase. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate also rose to 3.36%, indicating that the employment pressures brought about by the post-Chinese New Year job transition have not yet eased.

Currently, there are no signs of cost increases due to tariff hikes, yet the pressure on Taiwan's employment market has already intensified. In March, the number of employed individuals stood at 11.61 million, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous month, while the number of unemployed individuals slightly increased by 1,000 to 403,000. Among these, there was an increase of 3,000 unemployed individuals who resigned due to dissatisfaction with their previous jobs, reflecting heightened labor mobility.

Despite the slight increase in the unemployment rate, it is still 2,000 less compared to the same period last year. However, three potential crises warrant attention: first, an extended job transition period leading to mismatches between job vacancies and labor; second, a decrease in labor participation rates among certain age groups, especially among those aged 30 to 34 and 45 to 49; third, Taiwan's unemployment rate remains relatively high compared to neighboring Asian countries.

According to the statistics, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Taiwan in February was 3.35%, higher than South Korea (2.7%), Singapore (2.9%), and Hong Kong (3.2%). The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics noted that despite the gradual recovery of economic activities post-pandemic, the overall labor participation rate hit 59.36% in March, the highest level for the same month in the past 36 years, reflecting an increase in job-seeking willingness among the populace. However, compared to countries like the U.S., Canada, Japan, and South Korea, Taiwan's labor participation rate remains relatively low, posing significant challenges for the government in improving labor structure in the future.