Taiwan's jobless rate has risen to a 23-month high in April data showed on Monday, adding to the downside risks to the economy which has slpped into recession this year.
Taiwan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came at 3.97% in April, its highest since June 2014 and up from 3.92% in March.
According to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the Taiwanese economy may have contracted 0.84% year-on-year in the three months to 31 March, the DGBAS said on 29 April.
The Taiwanese economy had declined 0.8% and 0.5% in the third and fourth quarters of 2015 respectively.
Details of the Q1 GDP data showed that sharp decrease in exports and capital formation weighed on the economy also pointing to the need for a weaker currency that can aid exporters.
The TWD has gained some strength against the US dollar so far this year but the local unit has been keeping a downside trend in the big picture.
The Taiwan dollar that closed 2015 at 32.975/USD strengthened as much as 32.90 by last month but has now weakened again to 32.855, almost erasing the gains since January.
The USD/TWD pair has been trending higher since 2011 and it has never fallen below the 100-period moving average on the weekly chart since December 2013.
Technically, it shows that the pair has the potential to retest 35.0 and beyond as long as the strong support at 32.0 holds.
Meanwhile, Monday's data showed on an unadjusted basis, the jobless rate stood at 3.86%, slightly below the March rate of 3.89%. There were 451,000 people unemployed in April, down from 455,000 people in March.
And the youth unemployment rate decreased to 11.78% from 11.85% in March. The number of employed persons were at 11,242 million, up from 11,237 million in a month earlier. Total labour force came in at 11.693 million from 11.692 million in March.
