Taipei, July 27 (CNA) Taiwan's consumer confidence index (CCI) in July showed signs of improvement on the back of the strong local stock market, but the sub-index for employment sentiment was poor for the first time in six years, a survey showed on Thursday.
In the latest survey conducted by National Central University (NCU), the CCI for July rose 0.43 points from a month earlier to 78.19, with three sub-indexes all showing positive gains in that month, including family finances, consumer prices and the stock market.
The index consists of six indicators that reflect consumer confidence, including consumer prices, employment, family finances, overall economic climate, the stock market and possible purchases of durable goods over the next six months.
According to the NCU, the sub-index for the stock market posted the largest improvement, with a 2.3-point increase from the previous month.
However, the employment index in July fell below the 100-mark for the first time in 75 months to 99.95, the survey indicated.
According to the NCU, a sub-index score of 0-100 indicates pessimism, while a score of 100-200 indicates optimism.
Dachrahn Wu, director of the NCU's Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, said although the sub-index for the stock market helped bolster local consumer confidence, the same cannot be said about the job market.
Wu said factors contributing to the drop in the employment index include the influx of fresh graduates looking to get into the job market and the government's new work rules which could feasibly have slowed down employers' willingness to recruit new people.
Despite the drop in employment sentiment, index gains in consumer prices and family finances indicate the public is more or less upbeat about Taiwan's overall economy, he said.
The survey, conducted July 19-23, received valid responses from 2,554 people and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
