Taipei- Taiwan's seasonally adjusted jobless rate skyrocketed to 5.01 per cent in December, the highest monthly unemployment rate since June 2003, a government agency said Thursday.

There were 549,000 Taiwanese officially classified as out of work, 42,000 more than in November, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said in a press statement.

Agency officials cited the global economic downturn, which resulted in the closure and streamlining of local companies, as the major reason for the sharp increase in job losses.

The island's jobless rate has been rising for six consecutive months, they said.

From January 2008 to December, the average monthly jobless rate was 4.14 per cent, up 0.23 percentage points from 2007. In 2008, the average number of people out of work stood at 450,000, up 7.42 per cent from 2007, the agency said.

To increase jobs for locals, Taiwan's Council of Labour on Tuesday cut the quota for foreign workers by 30,000 and froze the import of new foreign workers by local manufacturing companies.

Taiwan has hired about 360,000 foreign labourers, 190,000 of whom work in construction and 170,000 as maids. The measure won't affect foreign maids. (dpa)