Taipei, June 19 (CNA) The working population among people aged 45-64 in Taiwan was 4.32 million in 2016, which translated into a labor force participation rate of 62.42 percent, according to a government report on the employment situation of older workers released on Monday.

The labor force participation rate of older workers was 0.53 percent higher than the previous year, mainly because of an increase in women's educational levels and their interest in employment, the annual Ministry of Labor report said.

In 2016, 49.88 percent of women aged 45-64 were part of the country's workforce, up from 42.68 percent in 2006, the report showed.

However, although the labor force participation rate of Taiwanese women in this age group has risen every year, it is still lower than that in South Korea, Japan and the United States, it said.

The report revealed that 2.445 million (57.84 percent) of older workers were employed in the service sector, 1.473 million (34.84 percent) in the industrial sector and 309,000 (7.32 percent) in the agricultural sector.

The income of older workers averaged NT$43,018, an increase of NT$274 from the previous year, the report said.

While the monthly salary of those working full-time averaged NT$43,946, those working part-time received NT$17,507 per month on average, according to the report.

The unemployment rate among older workers rose by 0.16 percent points year-on-year to 2.15 percent in 2016, with 48.37 percent losing their jobs because of business downsizing or closure, it said. 

(By Yu Hsiao-han and Y.F. Low)
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