JOB SEEKERS FAVOR TAIWAN'S TELECOMS FIRM IN WAKE OF ECONOMIC CRUNCH.

TAIPEI, May 1 Asia Pulse - Taiwan's partially state-owned Chunghwa Telecom company (TAIEX 2412) has emerged as the favorite place to find a job by the island's fresh job seekers, as the global economic downturn is making job security their top demand.

Cheers monthly magazine in its latest poll found that Chunghwa Telecom has for the first time become the most coveted company by fresh graduates of university or postgraduate schools in Taiwan among 100 top choices for employment.

Under the impact of the global economic crisis, the rankings of high-tech and financial services companies -- which used to be top choices -- have all slid in the 100 most coveted enterprises rankings, according to Cheers.

Chunghwa Telecom has edged out Taiwan's top electronics maker Hon Hai Precision Instrument, which was Taiwan new job seekers' top choice in 2008.

This year, their top five choices were Chunghwa Telecom, the food company Uni-President Group, Eslite Bookstore, China Steel Corp., and Hon Hai, in that order, according to Cheers.

Of this year's top 20 choices, only four were high-tech companies. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC), once the most coveted enterprise in Taiwan by young job seekers, fell in ranking beyond the top 10 this year, while AU Optronics, which used to rank high on the "top 100" list, fell beyond 30.

The Cheers poll found that over 40 percent of the fresh job seekers favor seeking a career as a civil servant or at a state-run enterprise.