LOWER UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. Jobseekers attend a mega job fair at the Manila Science High School Manila's new building on Dec. 1, 2023. Philippine Statistics Authority data showed that the unemployment rate went down to 4.2 percent in October this year. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)
MANILA – The country's unemployment rate in October this year fell to its lowest, while employment rose to its highest since April 2005.
Results of the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA) latest Labor Force Survey showed that the 4.2-percent unemployment rate during the month was down from the 4.5 percent recorded in the same month last year.
In a briefing on Thursday, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the number of unemployed went down to 2.09 million from 2.24 million in October last year.
The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR), meanwhile, was at 63.9 percent or about 49.89 million Filipinos aged 15 years and above who were either employed or unemployed.
The LFPR during the month was lower than the 64.1 percent recorded in October last year.
The country's employment rate was estimated at 95.8 percent, also the highest recorded since April 2005.
The number of employed Filipinos went up to 47.80 million from last year's 47.06 million.
Mapa said major industries with the largest increase in employment are accommodation and food service activities (+291,000), administrative and support service activities (+224,000), transportation and storage (+149,000), public administration and defense (+98,000) and human health and social work activities (+86,000).
Underemployed persons or those who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their current job or to have an additional job or to have a new job with longer hours of work was recorded at 5.60 million.
This translates to an underemployment rate of 11.7 percent, which was lower than the reported 14.2 percent underemployment rate in October 2022.
In a separate statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) cited the importance of expanding opportunities for individuals to reskill or upskill while sustaining efforts to create an environment promoting high-quality jobs.
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said Philippine labor market conditions will continue to improve given the thrust of the Marcos Administration to encourage trade and investment and reinvigorate job generation.
“We can make the labor market more inclusive with the entry of more investments, especially those that bring in new and better technology. At the same time, we need to expand and enhance learning opportunities to ensure that we equip Filipinos for future jobs,” Balisacan said.
Balisacan said the positive trend observed in the country’s labor market will continue after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 11966, also known as the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code.
He said the legislation strengthens the country’s investment ecosystem by creating a more stable and predictable policy environment for collaboration in high-impact infrastructure projects.
“The passage of the PPP Code is just one of many recent reforms that have made the Philippines more attractive to foreign investors," he added.
"It provides the government with a more solid ecosystem for investments, which, in turn, generates employment opportunities for Filipino workers in several critical growth areas, including infrastructure,” Balisacan noted. (PNA)
