TAIPEI - Taiwan aims to create 99,000 jobs next year to bring down unemployment numbers lingering near record highs as a result of the global financial crisis, the government said Friday.

The island will focus on labour-intensive industries such as tourism and healthcare in its efforts to help those unable to find work, an official at the Government Information Office told AFP.

"Endeavours to improve the domestic job market are at the top of the cabinet's agenda," he said.

Figures from the Council of Labour Affairs show 73,000 jobs have been created in 2009.

Taiwan's trade-dependent economy took a severe hit from the global downturn, with the jobless rate hitting an all-time high of 6.13% in August. It had fallen to 5.96% as of October.

Taiwan reported an economic contraction of 1.29% for the third quarter, improving from a decline of 6.85% for the second quarter and from a record fall of 9.06% in the first quarter.