TAIPEI, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's unemployment rate reached 4.07 percent in May, the highest figure for May in the past eight years, and marking a continued upward trend over the past four months, the island's statistics agency said Monday.
It was up 0.04 percentage points from April and up 0.4 percentage points year on year, the agency said in a statement.
The total number of people unemployed in May was 486,000, up by 5,000 from April.
The majority of the unemployed lost their jobs because their employers downsized or shut down their businesses, according to the statement.
The number of people in employment across the island in May was 11.46 million, down 0.04 percent from April.
The industrial sector reported the biggest reduction in employment, while service sectors hired 4,000 more people due to the easing of the COVID-19 epidemic.
The number of people who worked less than 35 hours a week due to economic factors totaled 456,000 in May, up by 56,000 over April, the highest figure since January 2019.
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