Government to boost employment amid high joblessness

The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) will come up with an employment promotion program for 2009-2012 in the hope of keeping the country's unemployment rate at 3.9 percent or lower, CEPD Deputy Chairman Shan Gee said Thursday.

Shan made the announcement after the Executive Yuan's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) on Wednesday reported that September's unemployment rate hit a four-year high of 4.27 percent for the same month and the figure represented a 0.13 percentage point increase over the previous month.

The unemployment rate averaged 3.96 percent over the first nine months of this year, marking a 0.04 percentage point increse over the same period of last year and a three-year high for the same period, the reported revealed.

"It is a grave problem we must tackle first, " Shan said.

He added that funding for the 2009-2012 employment promotion program has been allocated in the government's budget plan for next year and is expected to be implemented on a long term and consistent basis.

In the meantime, the government's employment stimulation plan for the second half of this year is expected to generate thousands of jobs, said Shan.

The plan, which is aimed at expanding domestic demand, calls for launch of many construction projects initiated by the government.

Around NT$58.3 billion earmarked for the projects eventually will be delivered to local governments.

Shan added that some 14,000 job openings are expected to be created in November and December after the local governments begin to award construction contracts.

To boost short term employment, the government has also asked various government agencies to come up with feasible programs, Shan said, adding that the Council of Labor Affairs has raised an employment promotion proposal as a result.

To implement those programs, however, the government will need to find funding sources, according to Shan, who added that only the employment stimulus programs initiated by the Council of Labor Affairs call for a budget of NT$3 billion.

Shan added that government will commission the DGBAS to study budget issues.

He said wage subsidies will be included in the planned short-term employment promotion programs. He noted that when the jobless rate reached 5 percent in 2003 and 2004, the Ministry of Economic Affairs provided wage subsidies to small and medium-sized enterprises so they can pay their employees.

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Government to boost employment amid high joblessness