2024 jobless rate lowest in 19 years

Unemployment fell to its lowest in 19 years in 2024 and job quality also improved to its best showing over the same period, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

The country's jobless rate edged down to 3.1 percent — equivalent to 1.63 million Filipinos — in December, from 3.2 percent a month earlier, while underemployment, which counts those looking for more work or an extra job (5.48 million for the month), picked up to 10.9 percent from 10.8 percent.

This led to full-year unemployment and underemployment hitting 3.8 percent and 11.9 percent, which National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said were the lowest since 2005.

He attributed the yearend gains to a seasonal demand for labor during the holidays that saw a total of 50.19 million Filipinos with jobs in December, or an employment rate of 96.9 percent.

The services sector continued to account for the bulk of jobs with a 60.5-percent share of the employed, followed by agriculture (21.3 percent) and industry (18.3 percent).

The transportation and storage and construction sectors added the most jobs during the month at 555,000 and 263,000, respectively.

Agriculture and forestry, on the other hand, shed 1.56 million in a reflection of the continued impact of a series of severe storms that battered the country in the fourth quarter.

Wage and salary workers comprised the majority of those with jobs at 63.1 percent in December, followed by the self-employed without any paid employees (28.5 percent), unpaid family workers (6.8 percent) and employers in own-family operated farms or businesses (1.6 percent).

The private sector provided most of the wage and salary jobs with a 78.9-percent share and the government and state-owned firms accounted for 14.4 percent.

Youth employment, however, fell to 90.9 percent in December from 90.6 percent a month earlier.

The overall labor force participation rate (LFPR) — a measure of the working age population who are actively looking for jobs or are employed — slipped to 65.1 percent from 66.6 percent in December 2023.

The youth LFPR fell to 31.9 percent from 35.5 percent while that for women dropped to 54.7 percent from 56.3 percent, which the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) respectively attributed to schooling and household responsibilities.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that it was "crucial" to sustain economic growth and provide higher-earning opportunities for Filipinos.

"The government remains committed to advancing both supply- and demand-side measures that will foster a more dynamic labor environment...," he added.

"To align with workforce trends and industry demands, the government is promoting more inclusive work arrangements that meet the needs of individuals from diverse backgrounds, reducing barriers to labor force participation," the NEDA chief also said.

The Department of Finance, meanwhile, said the annual unemployment and underemployment rates were the lowest since the PSA began compiling comparable data in 2005.

It noted that the annual jobless rate of 3.8 percent was below the 4.4- to 4.7-percent set in the 2023-2023 Philippine Development Plan and the 2028 target of 4.0-5.0 percent.

Finance Secretary Ralph Reco said the government was "focusing heavily" on education, infrastructure and human development improvements to make the Filipino workforce globally competitive.

Press-Release-for-December-2024-LFS.pdf

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Source: Manila Times

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

Philippine workers top study on pay satisfaction

Employees in the Philippines topped a global survey of workers who consider themselves “fairly paid,” according to WorkL’s Global Workplace Report, with 79% of them expressing satisfaction with their compensation.

“Pay directly correlates with overall happiness and engagement and WorkL’s data shows that employees today are wanting more pay and greater flexibility in hours or home working — this has more than doubled between 2019 and 2024,” the London-based digital career development company said.

The pay workers receive monthly is not the only factor, it added. Others include flexibility, home/hybrid work, travel and childcare.

“This indicates that employees don’t just want more pay at the end of the month, but want the time they are working to be more valuable,” it said.

Apart from higher and fair pay, WorkL found that workers have a desire for more holidays, reduced work hours and minimized travel expenses.

“Respect is another common topic mentioned alongside pay, adding further evidence that there are multiple ways in which an employee feels recognized and valued beyond pay,” it said.

Workers in the Philippines also scored highest in flexibility (81%).

“Flexibility means many different things to different people, and while the largest volume of respondents did not offer specifics in terms of what flexibility means for them, there are some clear themes from those that did,” the study found.

Respondents are looking for more opportunities to work away from the office, especially when having to deal with childcare or car troubles, the study found, with this trend strongest in financial services and technology sectors.

The percentage of those seeking more flexibility increases with age, before beginning to decline again at age 65+, it said.

“This is most likely due to caring responsibilities increasing with age and then dropping off as children fly the nest,” it added.

WorkL also found that 73% of firms are currently not phasing out work-from-home contracts for new hires.

The same number of firms do not plan to bring workers back into the office, while 64% support government initiatives for flexible working.

Regarding the prospect of a 4-day work week, 82% of employers are against it. Half of the respondents report labor shortages and competition for skilled candidates, WorkL added.

“There is also a demand for training and issues with pay expectations,” it said.

Workers in the Philippines also topped the rankings in terms of believing that their employers care for their wellbeing, with 79%  giving such answers.

The study incorporates responses from 100 countries including the UK, Australia, Canada, the US, New Zealand, Ireland, the Philippines, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates. It was conducted between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30.

The data used in the report is from WorkL’s Happy At Work Test which includes crowdsourced employee experience data on over 400,000 individuals from over 100,000 organizations.

Global Workplace Report 2024.pdf

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Source: Business World