TAIPEI, Aug 22: Taiwan’s unemployment rate rose to 4.03 per cent in July from 3.96 per cent last month due to an increase in first-time job seekers, the government said on Wednesday.

However, the number was down from 4.05 per cent in the same month a year earlier, said the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

Unemployment for the first seven months of the year averaged 3.88 per cent, down from 3.89 per cent from the same period last year, it added.The tally for July was the lowest percentage recorded for the month since 2001, as was the figure for the first seven months of the year.

The DGBAS said 433,000 people were jobless in July, a rise of 10,000 from the previous month.

In July, the eligible workforce stood at 10.75 million, up 0.65 per cent from June and 1.82 per cent from a year earlier. —AFP