The number of workers on formal furlough programs in Taiwan soared above the 44,000 mark last week, the highest level seen since the coronavirus disease pandemic began in early 2020, according to the Ministry of Labor, CNA reports.
A total of 44,973 workers were on leave programs arranged by their employers as of July 23, according to data released by the ministry on Monday, up 12,993 from the previous report on July 16.
The number of employers who had unpaid leave programs in place also increased by 975 from a week earlier to 3,679, the highest since the MOL started to compile figures on formal furlough programs in 2009 during the global financial crisis.
Huang Wei-chen, director of the MOL's Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, said the job market in 2009 and today present different types of challenges.
In 2009, the financial crisis hurt larger-scale export-oriented electronics manufacturers, Huang said.
Today, however, restrictions put in place under a Level 3 alert to contain the spread of coronavirus, including a ban on in-person dining, has hit businesses in the consumer-oriented lodging, food/beverage and tourism sectors.
The Level 3 alert had been imposed since May 19 before being lowered by one notch starting Tuesday. While most cities and counties have allowed the resumption of in-person dining, Taipei, New Taipei and Yilan County have not.
The restrictions on people's movements have weakened consumer sentiment in general, hurting the fashion sector as well as suppliers to the retail and wholesale trade, Huang said.
According to the ministry, 1,004 employers in the lodging and food/beverage sectors had unpaid leave programs in place last week, the highest of any sector, followed by the retail and wholesale sector (919) and the support service sector, which includes travel agencies (489).
The ministry said the lodging and food/beverage industry also recorded the highest number of furloughed workers, at 21,240, ahead of the retail and wholesale sector (7,328) and the transportation and logistics sector (3,331).
The ministry updates its furloughed worker data on the 1st, 8th, 16th and 24th of every month. The numbers only cover unpaid leave plans put in place by companies that are reported to the ministry.
Most of the enterprises during the outbreak implementing furlough programs have been small enterprises with work forces of fewer than 50 people.
These unpaid leave programs typically last for fewer than three months and involve employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, according to the ministry.
