Unemployment rate steadied in December

The country’s unemployment rate steadied in December amid seasonal services gains and construction sector job losses likely caused by the impact of a corruption scandal, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed on Friday.

At 4.4 percent, the jobless rate was unchanged from November but worsened from December 2024’s 3.1 percent. This translated to 2.26 million unemployed Filipinos, higher than the 2.25 million and 1.63 million recorded a month and year earlier.

The administrative and support service, and accommodation and food service industries added the most number of jobs at 385,000 and 280,000, respectively, the PSA data showed, likely reflecting holiday demand.

Construction, and transportation and storage, on the other hand, shed 550,000 and 258,000 positions. Chinabank Research said the former’s losses were likely due to “a sharper reduction in government outlays on infrastructure projects in the fourth quarter last year, which constrained project implementation.”

“Job creation in the sector may remain subdued as heightened scrutiny amid governance concerns may continue to delay public construction activities,” it added.

The Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) said the government was committed to improving the labor market situation amid “global and domestic issues.”

Economic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said the government would resume and fast-track delayed infrastructure projects and prioritize implementation of high-impact programs in key sectors.

The DEPDev noted a decline in the labor force participation rate to 64.4 percent from 65.1 percent a year earlier and also tagged higher youth unemployment (12.2 percent from 9.1 percent) and a rise in the share of workers that have stopped actively seeking employment (7.3 percent from 6.3 percent).

“[W]e will prioritize employment creation by restoring consumer and business confidence, reduce the cost of doing business, encourage innovation, and expand training and reskilling opportunities,” Edillon said.

Chinabank Research said the latest labor force survey results point to “a softening job market, as subdued domestic consumption likely weighed on labor demand.”

“However, job prospects may improve this year, supported by early signs of stronger manufacturing activity and a possible rebound in public construction,” it added.

Still, underemployment — which counts those looking for more work or an extra job — declined to 8.0 percent, down from 10.4 percent and 10.9 percent a month and year earlier, respectively.

The number of underemployed individuals stood at 3.93 million in December, down from 5.11 million a month earlier and 5.48 million in December 2024.

“The decline in underemployment allows workers to participate in the upskilling and reskilling initiatives to be rolled out by [the] government,” Edillon said.

Wage and salary workers accounted for the bulk of the employed at 64.2 percent of the total. Following were the self-employed (27.4 percent), unpaid family workers (6.9 percent) and employers in family-operated farms or businesses (1.5 percent).

Private companies employed 77.7 percent of wage and salary workers or 49.4 percent of the total number of employed persons. The government and state-owned firms, in comparison, held a combined wage and salary worker share of 15.2 percent and 9.8 percent of total employment.

Source: Manila Times

PHL skills gap most apparent in foreign languages

Filipino workers of either gender assessed themselves most deficient in language skills and operating machinery, according to a study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In its “Harnessing Survey Data to Shape the Future of Work” report, the ADB said according to their self-assessments, Filipino workers considered reading, writing and basic numeracy to be closely aligned with job requirements, though computer or software skills and communication skills were aligned to a lesser extent.

According to the skills self-assessment against job requirements, the ADB found that 39% of surveyed men and 27.3% of women considered themselves underskilled in foreign languages, rating their proficiency as below standard or needing improvement.

For men, the other major skills gaps were in operating machinery and equipment (26.5%), project management or organizational skills (23.6%), computer or software skills (20.2%), and teamwork or leadership skills (19.3%).

For women, operating machinery and equipment (25.4%), project management or organizational skills (23.7%), computer or software skills (17.6%), and teamwork or leadership (16.8%) were the other leading self-reported skills gaps.

The ADB noted that while some skill areas showed gender differences, overall trends in alignment and perceived gaps were broadly similar for men and women.

“In the Philippines, men were more engaged than women in physically demanding manual tasks such as lifting, driving, and using heavy machinery, while gender differences were narrower in precision work and prolonged physical activity,” the bank said.

Overall, the Philippines showed the lowest overall skills match at 71.8% for both sexes, next to Bhutan (92.6%) and Georgia (78.8%).

Source: Business World

Philippines’ August jobless rate declines

The Philippines’ unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in August, reflecting stronger hiring momentum as the labor market recovered from midyear slack.

The number of jobless Filipinos fell to 2.03 million from 2.59 million in July and 2.07 million a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Wednesday.

The employment rate improved to 96.1% from 94.7% in July, with total employed persons rising to 50.1 million. The jobless rate was 4% a year earlier and 5.3% in July.

The labor force participation rate climbed to 65.1% from 60.7% in July, equivalent to 52.13 million Filipinos aged 15 and older either working or seeking work.

On average, employees worked 41 hours a week, up from 40.7 hours in August last year.

The service sector remained the country’s biggest employer, accounting for 61.5% of total jobs, followed by agriculture at 20.4% and industry at 18.1%. Wholesale and retail trade, agriculture and forestry, and construction were the top employing subsectors.

Underemployment eased to 10.7% from 14.8% in July, with 5.38 million workers saying they wanted more hours or an additional job. Of the underemployed workers in August, 62.4% worked less than 40 hours a week, while 37.6% worked 40 hours or more a week.

Youth employment also improved, with the employment rate among those aged 15 to 24 rising to 88.3% from 81.9% in July, the local statistics agency said.

Source: Business World