The job market in Taiwan is expected to grow in the first quarter of next year, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey conducted by ManpowerGroup. Taiwan topped the list worldwide in employment expectations for the quarter; it was followed closely by India and Japan.

The survey says, “Hiring plans are 4 percentage points stronger when compared with the previous quarter but decline by 2 percentage points year-over-year.” In addition, “Year-over-year, Outlooks are 4 and 3 percentage points stronger for Small- and Medium-size employers, respectively. However, Large employers report a decline of 6 percentage points.”

25% of domestic companies surveyed between October 17 and November 1 said they would hire staff in the next quarter, while 5% expect to reduce manpower and 65% will remain unchanged. The largest proportion of new jobs will be from transportation, warehousing, communications and public utilities. Service, wholesale and retail sectors will see the second-largest growth, followed by finance, insurance and real estate. However, year-over-year, the outlook for the finance, insurance and real estate sector is expected to decline 18 percentage points, which would make it the weakest job market in seven years. Only transportation and utilities are expected to see a year-over-year improvement.

Some of the new jobs are expected to be seasonal in the first quarter due to Chinese New Year holiday shopping and travel. With a drop in the number of mainland tourists to Taiwan over the last year, travel-related sectors may not see sustained growth after the first quarter.

The unemployment rate as of October was 3.95%, according to the National Statistics Bureau. Total employment increased 0.59% from the previous year and 0.13% from September.