Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) Taiwan's jobless rate for August fell slightly from a month earlier as domestic economic activity accelerated amid eased concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said Tuesday.

Data compiled by the DGBAS showed that the August unemployment rate stood at 3.99 percent, down 0.01 percentage points from a month earlier, indicating an improving domestic economy.

The number of those who left the job market fell 1,000, or 0.20 percent, from a month earlier to 478,000 in August, while the number of the employed stood at 11.51 million, up 9,000, or 0.08 percent, the data indicated.

The drop in the jobless rate in August defied the conventional wisdom that the jobless rate would climb during the summer season, when many first-time jobseekers entered the market after graduation.

The DGBAS said that as Taiwan has been doing better than many other countries to contain COVID-19, local business activities have showed signs of increase, creating more job openings at a time of the rise in first-time jobseekers.

It was the first time the local jobless rate had fallen in August from July since 2010, when the unemployment rate dropped to 5.17 percent in August from 5.20 percent in July amid the fading impact of the global financial crisis, the DGBAS said.

After seasonal adjustment, the August jobless rate stood at 3.83 percent, down 0.07 percentage points from a month earlier, marking the third straight month of decline, the DGBAS said.

In August, the DGBAS said, the labor participation rate rose 0.03 percentage points from a month earlier to 59.23 percent, the DGBAS added.

In the first eight months of this year, the local jobless rate stood at 3.89 percent, up 0.16 percentage points from a year earlier, with a labor participation rate of 59.14 percent, unchanged from a year earlier, according to the DGBAS.

In August, the number of those who lost their jobs due to business downsizing or closures fell 5,000 from a month earlier, which served as evidence of improving business activities in the country, the DGBAS said.

It added, however, that the number of first-time jobseekers rose 2,000 from a month earlier in August, while the number of those who lost their jobs due to the termination of temporary or seasonal employment contracts also rose 2,000.

In August, the unemployment rate among people with a university degree was 5.81 percent, the highest among all education groups, according to the DGBAS.

Among those with a graduate degree, the figure was 3.29 percent, while among people with a high school diploma, the jobless rate was 3.59 percent, the DGBAS said.

By age, the June unemployment rate for individuals aged 20-24 was 12.56 percent, the majority of whom were first-time jobseekers, while the jobless rate was 8.09 percent among people aged 15-19, and 6.54 percent in the 25-29 age group, the DGBAS said.