Taiwan Jan unemployment 3.80 pct vs 3.83 pct in Dec - UPDATE

TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) - The unemployment rate came in at 3.80 pct in January, down from 3.83 pct in December but up from 3.79 pct in the same month a year ago, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said.The jobless rate was the lowest for January in seven years.On a seasonally adjusted basis, the January unemployment rate came in at 3.95 pct, up from 3.94 pct in the previous month and up from 3.88 pct a year earlier, it added.The DGBAS said 411,000 people were jobless in January, a fall of 3,000 from the month before. Major contributors to the decline include a cut of 4,000 in the number of first-time job seekers freshly out of school who failed and a drop of 1,000 in the number who became unemployed owing to dissatisfaction with their previous jobs, it said. Major month-on-month growth included 4,000 in the number of of those who lost their jobs due to business closures or cutbacks and 1,000 who became unemployed owing to termination of seasonal or temporary jobs. On a year-on-year basis, the total number of jobless people in January rose by 8,000, it added. The DGBAS said that in January, the eligible workforce rose by 0.06 pct from the month before and was up by 1.49 pct from a year earlier to 10.80 mln. The January labor participation ratio was 58.32 pct, down from 58.34 pct in the previous month but up from 58.17 pct a year earlier, the DGBAS said. adela.lin@afxasia.comal/kmqMMMM