2020.01.2210:36:00UTC+00Taiwan Industrial Production Rises; Jobless Rate Falls

Taiwan's industrial production rose at a faster-than-expected rate in December and the unemployment eased during the month, official figures showed on Wednesday.

Industrial production rose 5.99 percent year-on-year in December, following a 1.79 percent rise in November, data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. Economists had expected a 3.7 percent increase.

Manufacturing output grew 6.37 percent annually in December, following a 1.91 percent rise in the previous month.

Production in water supply gained 2.74 percent and those in electricity and gas supply rose 1.01 percent. Meanwhile, production in mining and quarrying declined 5.14 percent.

On a monthly basis, industrial production rose 1.35 percent in December, following a 2.35 percent increase in the preceding month.

Data from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics showed that the jobless rate fell to an unadjusted 3.67 percent in December from 3.73 percent in November.

The number of unemployed persons decreased to 439,000 in December from 447,000 in the previous month.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate fell to 3.72 percent in December from 3.73 percent in the prior month. Economists had expected the jobless rate to fall to 3.71 percent.