Industrial and service sectors hire 4,000 in MarchBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe number of employees hired by the industrial and service sectors in March edged up 0.03 percent, or by 4,000 people, to 8.17 million, while inflation continued to erode wage gains, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. Hiring activity picked up among construction firms, as well as science, technology and healthcare service providers, more than offsetting headcount reductions at local manufacturers, the statistics agency said. “The manufacturing industry has borne the brunt of an ongoing global economic slowdown” induced by inflation and monetary tightening, Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said. A street vendor prepares to open for business at the Miaokou Night Market in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District yesterday. In the first quarter, take-home pay rose 2.41 percent annually to NT$45,286 and total wages grew 2.36 percent to NT$64,796, the agency said.
