TAIPEI, Nov 22, 2007 (AFP) - Taiwan's unemployment rate dropped to 3.92 percent in October from 3.99 percent in September mainly due to a decline in first-time job seekers, the government said Thursday.

However, the figure was up from 3.90 percent in October of 2006, said the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

In October, 421,000 people were jobless, down 8,000 from September.

Average unemployment in the first ten months of the year stood at a seven-year low of 3.92 percent, unchanged from a year earlier.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the October unemployment rate was 3.89 percent, unchanged from the previous month but up from 3.83 percent a year earlier.