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Low workforce growth due to pandemic and low fertility rate
Courtesy of ICRT
The government says slow growth of Taiwan's workforce in 2020 can be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic and the country's low fertility rate.
According to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the number of people in Taiwan's workforce, which is defined as individuals over the age of 15 who are employed or searching for work, averaged 11.964 million from January to November 2020.
Data from the Department of Census shows that those figures represent growth of 0.16% from the same period in 2019 and is the lowest growth level ever recorded for that time frame.
The government says the growth in the workforce is likely to pick up again as the coronavirus pandemic improves. However, officials are also warning that Taiwan's low fertility rate and aging population are likely to continue affecting the workforce in the long-term.
The Ministry of the Interior is estimating that Taiwan saw 164,000 births last year, the lowest since records began. Data shows that there were 147,702 births in the first 11 months of 2020, with the number for the full year expected to be around 164,000, lower than the previous low of 166,886 set in 2010.
