The number of employees in the nation’s industrial and service sectors shrank by 52,000 people, or 0.64 percent, from April to 8.11 million in May, as the job pool contracted amid spikes in domestic COVID-19 infections, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.

The biggest workforce reductions were at hotels and restaurants with 18,000 fewer workers, followed by wholesale and retail operators with a drop of 13,000, and arts, entertainment and recreational facilities, which were down 7,000, DGBAS Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) told an online news conference.

These sectors are bearing the brunt of tight restrictions under a level 3 COVID-19 alert, which banned the operations of gyms, movie theaters, spas, dine-in services and indoor gatherings of more than five people.

“The situation deteriorated last month due to lingering infections, but has a chance of stabilizing this month after authorities eased the restrictions a bit,” Chen said.

The limited opening from today at outdoor recreational parks and for small group tours would help boost confidence, she said.

However, travel agencies raised doubts, saying that people who join small group tours are not allowed to eat or drink during their travels except in their hotel rooms.

It is too early to gauge the impact of the outbreak, but it appears to have wreaked havoc on companies reliant on domestic demand, Chen said, adding that the previous wave put 105,000 people out of work from February to May last year.

The restrictions took evident tolls on average monthly take-home pay, which slumped 12.05 percent for the entertainment and recreational sectors and 4.68 percent for the hospitality industry, Chen said, adding that the retreat was 5.2 percent for other service providers.

For the month of May, take-home pay on average fell 0.75 percent to NT$42,836, but gained 1.83 percent compared with a year earlier, the statistics agency said.

Total monthly wages — after adding overtime and performance-based compensation — grew 5.27 percent to NT$51,957, it said.

Part-timers fared worse with a regular wage of NT$18,657, falling 7.92 percent from April and down 1.23 percent from a year earlier, it said.

Employees at electronics, mineral products and electricity suppliers, and life insurance companies saw their wages soared 132 percent, 77.66 percent, 25.49 percent and 10.14 percent respectively from a month earlier, thanks to the distribution of bonuses and commissions, Chen said.

For the first five months, average take-home pay increased 2.1 percent to NT$43,040 a month, while total wages gained 3.19 percent to NT$60,548, the agency said, adding that the pace of increases eased to 0.7 and 1.77 percent respectively after adjustments for inflation.

●Origin: Taipei Times
●Link: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2021/07/13/2003760739