The unemployment rate rose by 4.5 percent in September from 4.4 percent in August, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
This, however, is lower than the 5 percent recorded in the same month last year, the PSA said.
This translates to 2.26 million unemployed Filipinos, 50,000 more than August's figure of 2.21 million. It is, however, lower than the 2.50 million in September last year, reflecting a year-on-year drop of 234,000 unemployed individuals.
Meanwhile, underemployment -- which counts those looking for more work or an extra job -- declined to 10.7 percent from 11.7 percent and 15.4 percent in the previous month and last year, respectively.
The number of underemployment is equivalent to 5.11 million. These are people "who have expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional jobs, or to have a new job with long hours of work."
The PSA saw a downtick in the employment rate by 95.5 percent in September from 95.6 percent in the previous month. However, it is slightly higher than the 95.0 percent recorded in the same month last year.
In September 2023, the number of individuals with jobs reached 47.67 million, as opposed to 48.07 million in August. The figure for employed individuals in September 2022 stood at 47.58 million.
The country's Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in September 2023 declined to 64.1 percent from 64.7 percent in August and 65.2 percent in September last year.
Source: Manila Times