Taiwan's unemployment rate stood at 3.85 percent in May, its lowest point since June 2008, [Hong Kong company registration]the island's statistics authority said on Monday.

The unemployment rate of people with higher education dropped to 4.7 percent, also the lowest level in the last six years, a sign that the market for educated workers has improved, the authority said.

In May, the jobless population decreased by 6,000 from the previous month to 443,000, down 0.06 percentage points from April. For the first five months of this year, [Hong Kong Company Formation]the unemployment rate averaged 3.98 percent, down 0.16 percentage points year on year.

Although the market for educated workers improved in May, it is estimated that the more than 120,000 graduates about to flood the job market will lead to an increase in unemployment.

The authority also said that the real monthly income for the first four months of this year, 52,087 new Taiwan dollars (1,734 U.S. dollars), still remained lower than that in 1998, which was 52,810 new Taiwan dollars.