TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The unemployment rate rose to 3.32% in February, ending five months of consecutive declines, reports said Thursday.

However, the change was mostly the result of seasonal factors, including the annual wave of job changes around the Lunar New Year, the government said. The February figure showed an increase of 0.03% from January, per CNA.

However, when excluding seasonal factors, unemployment declined 0.03% to 3.33%, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said. February saw 400,000 people looking for a job, or 4,000 more than in January, while 11.64 million people were employed.

The number of people unemployed because they were dissatisfied with their original job rose by 5,000, forming a key element of the job shifts during February.