Jobless rate drops to 3.2%

Unemployment fell to 3.2 percent in November — the second-lowest monthly rate in 2024 — as the holiday season led to more jobs for Filipinos, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Wednesday.

The jobless rate improved from 3.9 percent in October and 3.6 percent a year earlier. It was also the lowest since June's 3.1 percent and brought year-to-date unemployment to 3.9 percent.

The November result was equivalent to 1.66 million unemployed Filipinos, lower than October's 1.97 million and the year-earlier 1.83 million.

National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa attributed the gain to more job opportunities during the holiday season. In particular, he told reporters that the number of people working in accommodation and food services rose by over 500,000 during the month.

Underemployment — which counts those looking for more work or an extra job — also improved to 10.8 percent from 12.6 percent a month earlier and November 2023's 11.7 percent.

The number of the underemployed was said to be 5.35 million, improving from 6.08 million in October and 5.79 million a year ago.

With employment having improved to 96.8 percent from 96.1 percent in the previous month and 96.4 percent in November 2023, the number of Filipinos with jobs reached 49.54 million, higher than October's 48.16 million, but slightly lower than the year-earlier 49.64 million.

The labor force participation rate similarly improved to 64.6 percent from the month-earlier 63.3 percent, but fell from November 2023's 65.9 percent.

The services sector remained the main source of jobs, accounting for 63.1 percent of the employed. Agriculture and industry followed with 20 percent and 17.9 percent, respectively.

Wage and salary workers comprised 68.8 percent of those with jobs, followed by the self-employed at 27.8 percent.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, in a statement, said the government was prioritizing job quality and income improvements in order to sustain the labor market gains.

"Our labor market remains robust, with consistently high employment rates and reduced underemployment," he also said.

"The next step is to expand business and employment opportunities to enable more Filipinos to actively and productively contribute to the economy."

Balisacan said the government was keen to encourage business upgrading and skills training programs to ensure that jobs offer competitive wages as "our workers raise their productivity by developing their human capital."

"The government needs to facilitate the adoption of alternative work arrangements to account for workers' evolving preferences while considering organizations' emerging demands," he added.

It will also focus on "accelerating government programs that will increase employability, especially among the youth."

Source: Manila Times

August building permit approvals fall by 7.5%

Approved building permits fell 7.5% year on year in August to 13,436, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

In August, approved building projects amounted to 3.23 million square meters of floor area, up 1.9% from a year earlier. Approved permits represented projects valued at P43.05 billion, up 1.1% year on year.

Residential buildings accounted for 64.7% of approved permits, with single homes making up 83.1% of the residential segment.

Non-residential permits accounted for 22.1%, and were valued at P18.31 billion, down 13% year on year.

Approved commercial construction applications made up 69.2% of the nonresidential segment, down 3.6% year on year.

Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) accounted for 25.1% of approved construction projects, followed by Central Visayas and Central Luzon.

Average Cost of Construction

Residential buildings had the highest average cost of constructions

The average cost of construction in August 2024 was recorded at PhP 9,840.20 per square meter. This was 15.9 percent lower than the average cost of PhP 11,700.77 per square meter in August 2023. Alteration and repair, other non-residential such as facade, helipad, niche, water tank, etc., and other constructions, which include demolition, street furniture, landscaping and signboards, were excluded in the average cost of construction since there is no reported floor area for these types of construction.

By type of construction, residential buildings had the highest average cost of PhP 12,079.06 per square meter during the month. This was followed by non-residential constructions with PhP 10,551.32 per square meter, and addition to existing constructions with PhP 9,242.08 per square meter.

Among residential constructions, residential condominium-type posted the highest average cost of PhP 15,752.80 per square meter during the period, while other residential such as container van house, staff housing, servants quarter, etc. recorded the lowest average cost of PhP 6,557.65 per square meter.

Across non-residential constructions, institutional-type buildings reported the highest average cost of PhP 13,397.53 per square meter. On the other hand, agricultural-type buildings registered the lowest average cost of PhP 6,791.37 per square meter.

The PSA said construction statistics are compiled from the copies of original application forms of approved building permits, as well as from demolition and fencing permits collected monthly by the agency’s field personnel from the offices of local building officials.

Source: Business World

Philippines poverty rate at 15.5% in 2023

The Philippines’ poverty rate dropped to 15.5% last year from 18.1% in 2021, with rising food prices limiting the reduction in the number of poor, the government’s statistics agency said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said there were 17.54 million people living below the poverty line, a decrease of 2.4 million from the previous survey two years earlier.

The PSA considers individuals as “poor” if their incomes are not enough to buy basic food and non-food needs.

The government aims to reduce poverty incidence to 9% by the end of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s term in office in 2028.

“If food inflation had been lower, of course the reduction in poverty could be much, much bigger,” National Statistician Dennis Mapa told a news conference.

The average inflation rate last year was 6.0%, well above the central bank’s 2% to 4% comfort range.

PSA conducts a family income and expenses survey every two years to determine poverty incidence and other income indicators. Over 160,000 families were interviewed for the survey, PSA said.

Source: Business World