Unemployment rate down in Oct but job quality worsened

Unemployment rate in the country rose to 3.9 percent in October, a slight increase from 3.7 percent in September but lower than the 4.2 percent that was recorded in the same month in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.

This translates to 1.97 million unemployed Filipinos, 80,000 more than September's 1.89 million but lower than October 2023's 2.09 million, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 120,000 unemployed individuals.

Meanwhile, underemployment — which counts those looking for more work or an extra job — rose to 12.6 percent, up from 11.9 percent in September and 11.7 percent a year earlier.

This is equivalent to 6.08 million 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."

Employment rate, meanwhile, decreased to 96.1 percent in October from 96.3 percent in September but higher than last year's 95.8 percent.

The number of individuals with jobs reached 48.16 million, lower than September's 49.87 million but higher than October 2023's 47.79 million.

The services sector continued to dominate the labor market in October in terms of the number of employed persons with a share of 61.0 percent

The country's Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in October was registered at 63.3 percent, lower than the 65.7 percent recorded a month earlier and October 2023's 63.9 percent.

Source: Manila Times

Unemployment eases to 3.7%

The Philippines’ unemployment rate fell to 3.7% in September, driven in part by a growing number of female workers joining the labor force ahead of the holiday season, the statistics agency said on Wednesday.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Labor Force Survey showed the jobless rate dropped to 3.7% in September from 4% in August and 4.5% in September last year.

This translated to 1.89 million unemployed Filipinos in September, down by 177,000 from August and by 370,000 from a year earlier.

Despite the lower jobless rate, underemployment rose to 11.9% in September from 11.2% in August and 10.7% in September last year.

The number of underemployed Filipinos — those who want longer work hours or an additional job — increased by 831,000 to 5.94 million in September from 5.11 million a year ago.

In the first nine months of the year, the unemployment rate averaged 4%, lower than the 4.6% average a year ago.

PSA data showed the employment rate went up to 96.3% in September from 95.5% a year ago. This is equivalent to 49.87 million employed Filipinos, up by 2.2 million from 47.67 million in September 2023.

In September, the labor force participation rate (LFPR) increased to 65.7% in September, from 64.1% a year ago. This translates to a labor force of 51.77 million in September, up 1.84 million from 49.93 million a year ago.

Undersecretary and National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said 1.34 million of these new workers were women.

“In [the number of] employed persons year on year, the majority here are actually female workers,” he told a news briefing in mixed English and Filipino.

He noted there has been a steady increase in female workers for the past three months.

The LFPR among female Filipino workers rose to 55.7% in September from 53.4% a year ago. For male workers, the rate also rose to 75.6% from 74.7% a year ago.

“By and large, more and more women and youth are entering the labor force. This bodes well for our economic outlook as more Filipinos see increasing job opportunities. As the holiday season approaches, we expect more employment available in retail trade as well as accommodation and food services,” Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said in a statement.

Of the 883,000 new employees seen in September, the bulk or 802,000 were youth, bringing the youth employment rate to 90%.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the government will continue to implement supply-side and demand-side interventions to ensure the government will hit quality employment targets.

“The government is urgently addressing the constraints to high-quality job creation and collaborating with the private sector to capacitate our workers with the right skills and competencies simultaneously,” he added.

Mr. Balisacan said the NEDA is also working to finalize the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Plan, a 10-year roadmap to encourage investments in priority sectors, improve the employability of the current and future workforce, and enhance labor market governance for the next decade.

DECLINING JOBS

By industry, the services sector continued to employ the largest number of Filipinos with 31.31 million workers in September.

This was followed by the agriculture sector, which employed 9.48 million, and the industry sector with 8.56 million workers.

Meanwhile, the administrative and support service activities industry gained the biggest number of new employees year on year with 735,000.

Service activities added 559,000 workers year on year, followed by wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with 486,000 and public administration and defense with 333,000.

The manufacturing sector added 200,000 jobs year on year in the third quarter.

On the other hand, accommodation and food service activities had the biggest annual decrease in jobs with 242,000, followed by agriculture and forestry (210,000), fishing and aquaculture (136,000) and construction (87,000).

On average, employed Filipinos worked 40.3 hours a week, slightly lower than the 40.7 hours in August and 40.8 hours in September 2023.

University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations Assistant Professor Benjamin B. Velasco said the September unemployment and underemployment data implies that “more people entered the labor force but found part-time or temporary jobs only.”

“This is revealed in the rise in LFPR but lower average hours of work per week along with an increase in people wanting more hours of work,” he said.

“This can mean a greater number of young people employed in freelance work like virtual assistants, internet-based tasks, or delivery riders as shown in the comparative increases in sub-sectors like admin and support services and other service activities,” he added.

University of the Philippines Baguio economics instructor Edgar Antonio C. Suguitan said the underemployment trend reflects the precarious nature of employment in the country.

“It is a sign of a weakness of the economy because the economy does not have the capacity to accommodate a growing labor force,” he told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat.

“Rampant in the labor market is this employment ‘flexibility’ as many workers are given temporary contracts,” he added.

Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Jose Sonny G. Matula sounded the alarm over the rise in underemployment, which he said suggested workers’ incomes are insufficient to meet basic needs, driving them to seek more jobs to survive.

“This financial strain has potential health consequences for workers who are compelled to work longer hours or multiple jobs simply to make ends meet,” he said.

He said the decline of employment in the wholesale and retail, construction, human health, and social work activities sectors was concerning.

“While the rise in overall employment indicates resilience in certain areas of the economy, the downturn in these key sectors highlights underlying vulnerabilities,” he said.

PSA data showed wholesale and retail trade lost 597,000 workers month on month. Followed by 284,000 in construction and 177,000 in human health and social work activities.

The labor group leader said wholesale and retail are “traditionally a cornerstone for job creation.” Its decline in workers could potentially impact small businesses and consumer activity, he added.

Source: Business World

August unemployment rate drops to 4%

An influx of women workers led to a drop in the jobless rate in August, the chief of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Unemployment fell to 4.0 percent from 4.7 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively, a month and year earlier, the PSA reported on Tuesday.

This was equivalent to 2.07 million Filipinos without jobs, 310,000 less than July's 2.38 million and August 2023's 2.22 million.

"One major factor was that a lot of women entered the labor force ... and a substantial number of them were absorbed," National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said.

"We have more female workers joining the labor force," he noted.

Mapa said that about 1.04 million female workers joined the labor force and about 1.03 million had found jobs.

The underemployment rate, which counts those looking for more work or an extra job, also improved to 11.2 percent in August from July's 12.1 percent. It was also lower than the year-earlier 11.7 percent.

The number of the underemployed was estimated to be 5.48 million.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR) — a measure of the number of working-age Filipinos who are actively engaged in the labor market — improved to 64.8 percent from 63.5 percent in July and August 2023's 64.7 percent.

This was equivalent to 50.29 million individuals ages15 years old and over who were in the labor force.

Employment rose to 96.0 percent, higher than the 95.3 percent recorded in the previous month and the year-earlier 95.6 percent.

The number of individuals with jobs reached 49.15 million, up from July's 47.70 million and August 2023's 48.07 million.

The services sector continued to account for the bulk of employment with a share of 63.3 percent, followed by agriculture and industry with 19.3 percent and 17.4 percent, respectively.

Wage and salary workers comprised 62.4 percent of the employed, followed by the self-employed (28.3 percent), unpaid family workers (6.9 percent) and those in family-operated farms or businesses (2.5 percent).

The private sector was said to account for 76.4 percent of wage and salary workers, or 47.7 percent of all Filipinos with jobs, while state-owned firms employed 16.2 percent of wage and salary workers, or 10.1 percent of the total employed.

The youth LFPR fell to 33.2 percent from 34.9 percent in August and 34.2 percent a year ago, but youth employment rose to 88.0 percent from 87.7 percent and 85.2 percent a month and a year earlier, the PSA said.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan welcomed the latest job market data and said that these were an indication of "a more vibrant holiday season."

He noted the need for adequate investments in human capital and priority sectors, and also pointed to the expected finalization of the Trabaho Para Sa Bayan (Jobs for the Nation) plan by the end of the year.

Balisacan also called for the swift passage of the Konektadong Pinoy (Connected Filipino) bill, highlighting its potential to improve the information and communications technology, education, health and agriculture sectors.

Fast-tracking key infrastructure projects in energy, logistics and connectivity will also help boost job-creating investments, he added.

"With the government's continued focus on attracting strategic investments and the timely passage of key reforms, the Philippines is well-positioned to translate its promising macroeconomic fundamentals into long-term prosperity for its workforce and economy," Balisacan claimed.

Source: Manila Times