The number of workers on formal furlough programs in Taiwan fell sharply by more than 5,000 in one week as domestic demand recovered on the back of the government’s stimulus measures, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Monday.
According to data compiled by the MOL, the number of workers who agreed to take unpaid leave fell to 24,353 as of Nov. 7, down by 5,635 from the last report released on Nov. 1.
The number of companies with furlough programs in place also fell by 332 from a week earlier to 2,884, the data indicated.
Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛), director of the MOL’s Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, told reporters that the latest economic stimulus measures and the 2021 Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF) have given a boost to domestic demand, helping food/beverage and lodging businesses.
The issuing of NT$5,000 spending vouchers by the authorities to eligible residents in Taiwan, which were made available from Oct. 8, as well as similar vouchers with different values by several government agencies, have sparked a purchasing spree among consumers.
The four-day ITF, which ended on Sunday, saw many hotels and restaurants offering discounts to boost the domestic tourism market, as Taiwan still maintains border controls to prevent imports of COVID-19 cases.
According to the MOL, the growing domestic demand led to the number of furloughed workers in the lodging and food/beverage industry falling by 2,532 in one week to 7,657 as of Nov. 7.
In addition, the number of employers in the lodging and food/beverage industry also fell from 511 to 389 in one week, the MOL said.
The support service industry, which includes many travel agencies, saw the number of furloughed workers fall from 8,383 to 7,855 in one week but the number of companies with unpaid leave in place rose to 1,303 from 1,295, the MOL said.
In addition to the rebounding tourism industry, Huang said, restaurant-related retail and wholesale vendors benefited from the growing domestic demand, while the transportation industry also got a boost.
The MOL’s data showed the number of workers taking unpaid leave in the retail and wholesale industry fell from 3,880 to 2,286 in one week, while the number of furloughed workers in the transportation and warehousing industry also declined to 2,192 from 2,868.
According to the MOL, a bus company ended its furlough program to retain about 100 employees during the week.
Huang said a local airline had ended an unpaid leave program so it would have about 300 employees in place to provide services in preparation for an increase in arrivals of migrant workers and returning Taiwanese investors from overseas ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday early next year.
The ministry updates its furloughed worker data on the 1st, 8th, 16th, and 24th of every month. However, these numbers only cover unpaid leave plans put in place by companies that are reported to the ministry.
Most of the enterprises implementing furlough programs are small firms employing fewer than 50 people.
These unpaid leave programs typically last for less than three months and involve employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, according to the MOL.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel