At the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, Premier Chen Chien-jen received a briefing from the Ministry of Labor (MOL) on a program to alleviate labor shortages and expand employment in the post-pandemic era. The premier instructed relevant government ministries and agencies to think outside the box and proactively promote various employment assistance measures in order to further raise the overall labor force participation rate.
Premier Chen said that Taiwan faces a slowly contracting working-age population due to a low birth rate and an overall aging population, as well as a number of challenges arising from increasingly diverse career options available to jobseekers and evolving ideas around the nature of work. At the same time, Taiwan is experiencing an industrial recovery driven by domestic demand as the pandemic ends, which has led to increased labor demand. The government must pay close attention to these issues and proactively work to assist businesses to resolve their labor shortages and increase industrial competitiveness.
The premier emphasized that raising the overall labor force participation rate is a top priority in solving the labor shortage issue. He instructed the MOL to work together with relevant ministries and agencies to promote various employment assistance measures, including measures that incentivize the middle-aged, elderly, women and young people to actively seek employment. Relevant ministries and agencies should also encourage employers to improve salaries and workplace environments, the premier said, so as to better recruit workers and stabilize employment.