TAIPEI: The number of young and middle-aged people applying for unemployment benefits has increased since the global financial crisis surfaced last September, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) said yesterday.

The CLA said about half of those who have filed for unemployment benefits for the first time since September have college education or higher. Nearly 70 percent are under 40.

The figures reflect the recent reality on the island, that most recent layoffs have been among high- and mid-level white collar workers, according to the CLA.

The CLA said that 64,764 people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time between September and December last year. The figures are divided about equally between men and women.

The largest number of applicants, 15,135, were in the age group 25-29, while 44,049 were under 40, accounting for 68 percent of the total.

CLA officials said that since the government's Employment Insurance Law took effect in 2003, applicants for unemployment benefits have typically been people with lower levels of education or they have been middle-aged and older workers.

The officials attributed the large number of young and middle-aged workers now applying for unemployment benefits to the latest round of layoffs in the high-tech sector.

Young people usually are not the breadwinners in their families and would not balk at filing for unemployment benefits, the officials said.

CNA

(HK Edition 02/05/2009 page1)