Despite its highly effective handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, Taiwan was still badly affected by the major economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus. However, things are looking up as the Ministry of Labor (MOL) has recently announced that the number of workers on formal furlough initiatives has seen a staggering drop of more than 5,000 in a single week as the governments recent stimulus measures worked to drive domestic demand up.
More data compiled by the MOL stated that the number of workers who agreed to take unpaid leave is also falling. The number no sits at 24,353 as of 3 November 2021. The number of companies maintaining furlough plans also saw a drop down to 2,884.
Huang Wei-chen, director of the MOL’s Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, mentions that the governments latest stimulant efforts has been crucial in boosting the domestic demand for the local F&B and lodging industries.
The efforts of the government, as well as other agencies, to distribute subsidized spending vouchers to eligible residents have also induced a spending spree, further increasing demand.
The recent 2021 Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF) is also responsible for the impressive recent economic boost as many hotels and restaurants offered discounts to boost the domestic tourism market during the course of the event. This is a crucial point 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 7 November.
Generally, the MOL 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.
For the most part, businesses that are implementing these furlough plans tend to be SMEs who have an employee count of 50 or lower. According to the MOL, the unpaid leave programs will usually last for less than three months. Longer programs do exist, but are much rarer. These initiatives typically also involve about five to eight days of unpaid leave per month.
