Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) Taiwan's jobless rate for January fell slightly from a month earlier to 3.64 percent, indicating that the local job market remained stable, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Monday.

Data compiled by the DGBAS showed that the January unemployment rate fell 0.03 percentage points from a month earlier, while after seasonal adjustments, the January jobless rate stood at 3.71 percent, down 0.01 percentage points from a month earlier.

The DGBAS said the latest jobless rate after seasonal adjustments remained in the range between 3.71 percent and 3.76 percent seen in 2019, providing further evidence of a stable job market.

The January jobless rate was lower than the average of 3.73 percent seen in 2019, according to the data.

The DGBAS said it is watching closely to see how the COVID-19 coronavirus will affect the economy at home and abroad, and whether it will influence the local job market.

In January, the number of people who lost their jobs fell by 3,000, or 0.68 percent, from a month earlier to 436,000, while the number of employed rose by 5,000, or 0.04 percent, to 11.54 million, according to the DBGAS data.

The labor participation rate for January was 59.21 percent, down 0.01 percentage points from December, the data showed.

The DGBAS said the number of first-time jobseekers in January fell 2,000 from a month earlier, while the number of those who quit to look for another job also dropped by 1,000.

However, the number of those who lost their jobs due to termination of seasonal or temporary work contracts rose by 1,000 from a month earlier in January, the DGBAS said.

In January, the unemployment rate among people with a university degree was 5.22 percent, the highest among all education groups, but the figure was down from 5.30 percent seen in December, according to the DGBAS.

Among those with a graduate degree, the figure was 2.88 percent, and among people with only a high school diploma the jobless rate was 3.43 percent, the DGBAS said.

By age, the January unemployment rate for individuals aged 20-24 was the highest at 11.98 percent, while the jobless rate was 8.86 percent among people aged 15-19 and 6.51 percent in the 25-29 age group, the DGBAS said.