The number of workers on official furlough programs in Taiwan hit a new high for this year in the past week as the lodging and food/beverage industry continued to be affected by the ongoing domestic COVID-19 outbreak, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Friday.

Data compiled by the MOL showed the number of workers on unpaid leave during the period of June 24-30 rose to 22,179, up 1,340 from the previous report released on June 24.

The number of companies with furlough programs in place also rose by 115 from a week earlier to 3,027 in the week, the data indicated.

Huang Wei-chen (???), director of the MOL’s Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, told reporters that the increase in furloughed workers in the week largely came from the lodging and food/beverage industry, which accounted for about 70 percent of the rise, as fears over COVID-19 infections discouraged consumers from traveling and dining on-site.

Lodging, food/beverage industry

During the week, the number of the workers placed on unpaid leave in the lodging and food/beverage industry rose to 6,547 from 5,589, while the number of employers which implemented furlough programs also rose to 432 from 387, according to the MOL.

In that industry, Huang said, a hotel in southern Taiwan reported more than 100 furloughed workers during the week, while a restaurant chain reported that one of its outlets in northern Taiwan put more than 100 workers on unpaid leave.

Huang said that since the government would kick off a subsidy program for domestic travel in mid-July, the situation in the lodging and food/beverage industry is expected to improve from that period.

Other sectors

The pandemic also took a toll on the retail and wholesale industry which reported that the number of furloughed workers rose to 1,661 from 1,513 in the week, the MOL’s data showed.

Huang said one glasses retailer reported it placed an additional 40 employees on furlough in the past week after putting 100 on unpaid leave during the period of June 16-23.

In the transportation and warehousing industry, a small-sized tour bus company reported it had implemented a furlough program in the past week, Huang said though he did not disclose the number of employees affected.

As a result, the transportation and warehousing industry saw the number of workers on unpaid leave rise to 1,313 from 1,263, the MOL said.

Outlooks

As border controls remain in place in Taiwan, the number of furloughed workers in the support service industry, which is largely comprised of travel agencies, also rose to 9,420 from 9,365 in the past week, the MOL added.

The MOL updates its furloughed worker data on the 1st, 8th, 16th, and 24th of every month, reporting unpaid leave numbers for companies that have registered their furlough programs with the ministry.

Most of the enterprises implementing furlough programs are small firms that employ fewer than 50 people.

The unpaid leave programs typically last for less than three months, with employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, according to the MOL.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel