Highlights of the December 2022 Labor Force Survey
1. The country’s unemployment rate in December 2022 was estimated at 4.3 percent, the second lowest since April 2005, following the 4.2 percent in November 2022. The unemployment rate in December 2022 was lower than the unemployment rate in the same month last year at 6.6 percent.
2. In terms of magnitude, the total number of unemployed persons 15 years old and over increased by 43 thousand, from 2.18 million in November 2022 to 2.22 million in December 2022.
3. Employment rate in the country in December 2022 was estimated at 95.7 percent, lower than the reported employment rate in November 2022 at 95.8 percent but higher than the 93.4 percent employment rate reported in December 2021. The employment rate of 95.7 percent translates to 49.00 million employed Filipinos 15 years old and over in December 2022.
4. The labor force participation rate (LFPR) in December 2022 was posted at 66.4 percent, equivalent to 51.22 million individuals in the labor force. The LFPR in December 2022 was lower than the reported rate in November 2022 posted at 67.5 percent but higher than the LFPR in December last year at 65.1 percent. (Table A)
5. The average weekly hours worked by an employed person in December 2022 increased to 40.3, from 39.3 and 39.7 hours per week in November 2022 and December 2021, respectively.
6. Underemployment rate in December 2022 slid to 12.6 percent from 14.4 percent in November 2022. This was lower than the reported rate in the same period in 2021 at 14.7 percent.
7. In terms of magnitude, about 6.20 million of employed persons expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work in December 2022.
8. Among men and women, the LFPR has been consistently higher among men than women. LFPR for men in December 2022 was 76.7 percent while LFPR was 56.0 percent among women. Employment rate among men was likewise higher at 96.1 percent than women at 95.1 percent. Moreover, men had higher underemployment rate at 13.9 percent than women at 10.9 percent.
9. By broad industry group, the services sector continued to lead all sectors having the largest share of employed persons with 58.9 percent of the total employed persons in December 2022. The agriculture and industry sectors accounted for 24.0 percent and 17.1 percent of the total employed persons, respectively.
Source: PSA