Taiwan Sees Record Labor Force Oversupply Ratio in 2013

The ratio of Taiwan's enterprises in industrial and service sectors with a workforce oversupply grew from 1.6% in 2012  to 2.9% last year, the highest ever following the global financial tsunami in 2009, according to Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

The oversupply in Taiwan's science parks was worse: 11% in the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP), up from 5.2%; 4.6% in the Hsinchu Science Park (HSP), up from 2.6%; and 5.9% in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP), up from 4.4%.

In the first 10 months of 2013, enterprises in the CTSP employed a total of 30,900 persons, 5% more than the year before and the highest ever. In the same period, park enterprises enjoyed a whopping annual growth of 48% in revenues, due mainly to the strong performance of the park's semiconductor manufactures.

The CTSP's revenues in 2013 may hit a record high of NT$400-450 billion, although the manufacturers of precision machines and LCD panels there are likely to see their production volume drop because of the impact of the devaluation of the Japanese yen and intense competition from suppliers in mainland China and South Korea. (JL)

Ratio of Labor Force Oversupply 2009-2013    Unit: %
	HSP	CTSP	STSP
2009	2.7	6.4	8.0
2010	1.6	6.0	2.0
2011	3.4	0	2.6
2012	2.6	5.2	4.4
2013	4.6	11.0	5.9

Source: DGBAS