The Labor Ministry announced on Friday that the number of employees on unpaid leave fell to 9,146, the lowest level since July 2021. The number of companies implementing unpaid leave fell to 351 in the latest period, down 60 from the previous period.
Manufacturing accounted for the majority of furloughed workers, with 8,247 employees affected. However, the number of manufacturing companies implementing furloughs fell by 33, with a total reduction of 1,025 workers over the previous period.
The ministry attributed the decline to several factors, including that manufacturers have seen increases in new orders.
However, Labor Ministry official Wang Chin-jung (王金蓉) says extensions or new furloughs are still a possibility, as companies assess near-term demand. Wang says a few companies did begin new furloughs in the most recent period, at a rate of about 50 to 60 employees per company. Most of the companies that ended furloughs had fewer than 90 employees. Wang says that the trend of unpaid leave has been on a steady decline since its peak of 12,388 people in August.