The number of workers on unpaid leave in Taiwan increased to 14,560 over the past week as several sectors continued to report furloughing workers, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Thursday.
Data compiled by the MOL showed the number of workers who agreed to take unpaid leave rose by 431 during the week ending Feb. 23.
Meanwhile, the number of businesses with furlough programs in place also went up by 67 to 2,293.
Wang Chin-jung (???), deputy head of the MOL’s Labor Conditions and Equal Employment Division, said that the increase could be attributed to firms in the support services, wholesale & retail, and lodging and food & beverage sectors continuing to report their furloughed worker data over the past week.
The support services sector saw the largest increase in furloughed workers during the past week, rising by 135.
The wholesale & retail sector added 111 workers to the total, while the lodging and food & beverage sector contributed 86.
Bucking the trend, the export-oriented manufacturing sector removed 23 furloughed workers when a company in the sector terminated its furlough program earlier than planned, Wang said.
A total of 1,340 firms in the support services sector reported implementing unpaid leave programs this week, the most among all industries, followed by 296 in the wholesale & retail industry, and 171 in the lodging and food & beverage industry.
Meanwhile, the support services sector reported the largest number of furloughed workers with 8,929, ahead of the transportation and warehousing industry with 1,219, and the lodging and food & beverage sector’s 1,171, according to MOL data.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel