Taiwan Hiring Outlook Weakens

The hiring outlook in Taiwan for the fourth quarter of this year weakened amid rising uncertainty over the economy at a time of escalating trade friction between the United States and China, according to a survey released by 1111 online job bank, CNA reported. The job bank said 54.89% of enterprises polled in the survey said they are planning to launch recruitment campaigns in the fourth quarter, down 2.61% from a year earlier. Henry Ho, vice president of the job bank, said although more employers expect the economic climate to fare better in the fourth quarter than those who think the opposite, negative factors from rising trade disputes between Washington and Beijing remain a concern. Faced with such uncertainty from the top two economies in the world, enterprises prefer to remain cautious on business expansion, Ho said. The survey found that 24.11% of enterprise respondents said the economy will improve during the October-December period, while 14.32% said the economy will get worse. According to the survey, 46.23% of those employers who plan to hire in the fourth quarter said the decision aims to make up for a manpower shortage caused by natural attrition, 24.62% said a larger workforce reflects business expansion and 17.09% said the hiring is a regular practice.