PH unemployment at 3-year high

The country's labor market worsened in July following the series of typhoons that struck the country, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.

The country’s unemployment rate was recorded at 5.3 percent, up from 4.1 percent and 3.7 percent a month and year earlier. This is the highest recorded jobless rate since June 2022 at 6.0 percent.

source: PSA

This translates to 2.59 million unemployed Filipinos, higher than the 1.95 million and 2.38 million recorded in June and July 2024.

Meanwhile, underemployment — which counts those looking for more work or an extra job — rose to 14.8 percent, up from 11.4 percent in June. It is also higher than the 12.1 percent recorded a year ago.

The number of underemployed individuals stood at 6.80 million. These are workers who expressed a desire for additional hours in their current job, an additional job, or a new job with longer hours.

Employment rate, meanwhile, dropped to 94.7 percent, lower than the 96.3 percent and 95.3 percent recorded a month and year earlier. The number of individuals with jobs reached 46.05 million.

The country’s Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in April was registered at 60.7, markedly lower than the 65.7 percent in June and 63.5 percent in July 2024.

Source: Manila Times

Employment Rate in April 2022 is Estimated at 94.3 Percent

Employment rate in the country in April 2022 was estimated at 94.3 percent, translating to about 45.63 million employed Filipinos. This was higher compared to the reported employment rate at 91.3 percent in April 2021 or a year-on-year increase of about 2.36 million employed Filipinos from 43.27 million in April 2021.

The country’s unemployment rate has improved from the reported 8.7 percent a year ago to 5.7 percent in April 2022. Unemployment rate was posted at 6.4 percent in January 2022.

In terms of magnitude, the total number of unemployed individuals 15 years old and over in April 2022 was registered at 2.76 million. It was lower by 1.38 million from the number of unemployed persons in April 2021.

Persons in the labor force or the number of persons 15 years old and over reported as either employed or unemployed was estimated at 48.39 million in April 2022. This was higher compared to the 47.41 million Filipinos in the labor force for the same period last year. The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in April 2022 was likewise higher at 63.4 percent compared to the reported 63.2 percent in April last year.

Source: PSA

Fewer Filipinos unemployed in November 2021

The number of unemployed Filipinos decreased from 3.50 million in October to 3.16 million in November 2021.

According to PSA, the country’s unemployment rate of 6.5 percent in November was so far the lowest in 2021. In October, the figure was at 7.4 percent.

The second-lowest unemployment rate so far for 2021 was in July at 6.9 percent, while the third lowest was in September at 7.1 percent. The unemployment rate was highest in September at 8.9 percent.

The country’s employment rate also picked up from 92.6 percent in October to 93.5 percent in November, the highest reported since the start of 2021. PSA said this was equivalent to 45.48 million employed individuals. The figure was at 43.83 million in October, and 43.59 million in September.

Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate (LFPR) in November was estimated at 64.2 percent, translating to 48.64 million individuals aged 15 years old and above who were either employed or unemployed.

“This LFPR was higher than the LFPR reported from January to October 2021 except in March and June 2021, both at 65.0 percent, and May 2021 (64.6%). Labor Force posted a month-on-month increment of 1.31 million individuals from the 47.33 million reported in October 2021,” PSA said in its report.

Youth labor force participation rate in November was posted at 37.5 percent, higher than the youth LFPR in October at 35.7 percent.

PSA said that youth employment rate in November was estimated at 86.6 percent, also the highest so far in 2021.

Source: Inquirer and PSA