Foreign Workers in Taiwan Exceed 326,000The number of foreign workers in Taiwan exceeded 326,000 as of the end of February, reports reaching here from Taipei said Thursday.The figure indicates an increase of 1,918 over the 325,019 registered in January, which in turn saw a decrease of 1,496 from the December level, a local official was cited as saying. In order to cope with rising domestic unemployment, the local authorities worked out a plan in July last year to reduce the number of imported foreign workers. Of the foreign workers in Taiwan, over 100,000 are home helps. More than 63,400 others are hired by the manufacturing sector. About 34,000 foreign laborers work in Taipei City, making up over 50 percent of the alien residents in the metropolis. The authorities began importing foreign workers in 1990 to remedy an increasing shortage of laborers. The majority of foreign workers come from the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. |
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