The Impact of the SARS Epidemic in Taiwan: Implications for Human Resources, Labor Markets, and Unemployment in the Service Sector

Abstract

This article examines the links between epidemics and their economic and human resources consequences in a contemporary setting, specifically in terms of their impacts on human resources, labor markets, and jobs. To exemplify the above, we looked at severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a phenomenon we have previously investigated in the People`s Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. This specific study looks at the impact of SARS on the Taiwanese economy, its human resources, labor market, and its level of employment and unemployment. In this preliminary investigation, we worked on the assumption that the greatest impact would be on human resources in the service sector (and, in turn, on particular subsectors, such as the hotel industry). Our tentative conclusions, caveats notwithstanding, lead us to report that the crisis brought not only relatively discernable economic losses but also observable damage to ”trust” in labor-management relations.