The Level 3 alert has pushed unemployment in Taiwan up to a 10-year high. Labor activists say Taiwan has never before seen so many jobs lost in just a few weeks. Now the government has a new three-pronged strategy to encourage job creation. Temporary, part-time jobs will be created at government offices. And generous subsidies will reward jobseekers for taking up roles, as well as rewarding businesses for taking on new employees.

Ms. Ma inputs data into a computer. Twenty-six years old, she has a temporary position in a local government office. Before this, she worked in the restaurant industry, but lost her job due to the pandemic. With the help of a jobseekers’ office, she found this role, which leaves enough time to keep looking for another opportunity.

Ms. Ma is hardly the only one in a situation like this. The pandemic has destroyed many jobs. Now the Ministry of Labor has released a three-pronged response. One promise is 20,000 new temporary jobs at local or central government offices. With wages of NT$160 an hour,up to 80 hours a month, they could offer a monthly income of up to NT$12,800. Secondly, businesses will be encouraged to create jobs by a NT$10,000 subsidy payable two months after the new role is created, and another NT$10,000 two months after that. Finally, there’s a subsidy for unemployed people who find a job: NT$5,000 a month for the first six months, then NT$1,000 a month after that, up to a maximum of NT$108,000. All those subsidies together add up to a maximum NT$128,000.

Member of public
There are so many people on unpaid furlough right now. I think it’s great if the government provides these opportunities and gives you this monthly income.

Sun Yu-lien
Taiwan Labor Front secretary-general
This wave of unemployment has been very sudden and harsh. It’s created a situation where the unemployment rate’s gone up massively in a single month. That didn’t even happen during the financial crisis of 2008-2009.

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics says the unemployment rate grew by 4.8% in June, leaving 570,000 adults jobless, a 10-year high.Since the Level 3 alert began, 3,679 companies have placed almost 45,000 workers on unpaid leave. While the government has scrambled to offer stimulus packages and subsidies, many people are still in a very tight spot.