Jobless rate drops to 3.8% in February

The country's jobs situation improved in February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday, with unemployment falling to 3.8 percent from 4.3 percent at the start of the year.

The result — the lowest since December's 3.1 percent but higher than the year-earlier 3.5 percent — was equivalent to 1.94 million Filipinos without jobs, 228,000 lower than January's 2.16 million but 141,000 higher than the year-ago 1.8 million.

National Statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa said the accommodation and food service sector provided the biggest boost by adding around 377,000 jobs ahead of the summer season, and that preparations for the midterm elections also helped create more job opportunities for Filipinos.

"In February, about 41,000 people were employed by political organizations. This will likely continue until May and is part of seasonal trends," Mapa said.

Job quality up

Underemployment — which counts those looking for more work or an extra job — also improved in February by dropping to 10.1 percent, or 4.96 million individuals, down from 13.3 percent and 12.4 percent a month and year earlier, respectively.

With employment rising to 96.2 percent from January's 95.7 percent — but slightly lower than the 96.5 percent in February last year — the number of those with jobs increased to 49.15 million from 48.49 million.

The services sector continued to account for the bulk of jobs with a share of 61.6 percent, while agriculture and industry respectively had 20.1 percent and 18.3 percent of the total.

The labor force participation rate — an estimate of the number of people actively engaged in the workforce — registered at 64.5, higher than the 63.9 percent recorded in the previous month but again lower than February 2024's 64.8 percent.

Improvements still needed

Despite the February improvement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said that unemployment in the country remained higher compared to neighbors such as Malaysia (3.1 percent) and Vietnam (2.2 percent), but was lower than China (5.4 percent) and India (6.4 percent).

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the government remained focused on generating strategic and high-quality employment opportunities by attracting investments, accelerating infrastructure projects, and promoting innovation.

"We will build on our momentum and intensify our efforts to secure strategic job-generating investments, promote a dynamic and innovative business environment, and diversify growth drivers," the NEDA chief said.

"The continued rollout and implementation of high-impact infrastructure flagship projects, particularly in energy, transport, and digital connectivity, will boost domestic employment and business activity," he added.

To better equip Filipino workers for an evolving labor market, Balisacan said the government was prioritizing upskilling and lifelong learning.

The NEDA said it was developing a Lifelong Learning Development Framework that would support continuous learning and help workers acquire micro-credentials or pursue higher education while employed.

It also plans to expand partnerships with the private sector to ensure that training programs align with industry needs.

This will be implemented under the Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework, whose implementing rules were finalized in February by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Source: Manila Times

Philippine business conditions seen headed in right direction

The Philippines is headed in the right direction in terms of becoming a more conducive business environment, the Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG) said.

“The attractive marketplace (pillar) is about the capabilities that the government has to create a conducive business environment,” Kenneth Sim, dean at Chandler Academy of Governance, a Singapore-based public-sector training organization, said in an event organized by CIG and the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration.

“Relative to peers, the Philippines doesn’t do as well. But the gap is closing, and in the right direction, which means the Philippines is actually catching up to the global average,” he added, citing comparable economies like Vietnam and Egypt.

Citing results of the Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) in 2024, Mr. Sim said that the Philippines posted a 0.56 marketplace attractiveness score last year, up from 0.53 in 2023. The global average is 0.58.

“Part of the reason why this is improving is the stable macroeconomic environment, which looks at things like inflation, as well as the other one that has improved, which is logistics competence,” he said.

Some key indicators for an attractive marketplace, like property rights and business regulations, are below the global average.

In particular, the country scored 0.39 in stability of business regulations, against the 0.51 global average. It scored 0.30 in property rights, against the 0.50 global average.

Mr. Sim noted opportunities to improve in the leadership and foresight components of the index.

“Over the years, there has been a decline in the score for the Philippines. It started at just above 0.4 in 2021, and by 2024, the Philippines will have dropped to 0.33. So this means, again, that the gap between the Philippines and the global average has been widening,” he said.

“It is important to point out, however, that even though we call it leadership and foresight, it is not about individual leaders; it is about the ability of the system to develop these capabilities,” he said.

“Of course, leaders play an important role, but this pillar is not about people. It is about the system,” he added.

“The performance of the Philippines in the CGGI in 2024 is somewhere in the middle. 67th out of 113, not the best, but certainly not the worst,” Mr. Sim said.

He added that although the country’s rank has suffered, its score has declined only slightly.

“What this means is that over time, relative to itself, in your own country, you have kept your performance relatively stable, but the rank has fallen, which simply means that more people are joining the index, and others are doing even better,” he said.

“So, staying in place and being patient is not going to help you to improve in ranking,” he added.

He said that the Philippines is stronger in areas like strong institutions and financial stewardship.

Source: Business World

World food prices dip 2% in 2024

World food commodity prices declined by 2.1 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Friday, but they remain considerably higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

FAO's overall Food Price Index averaged 122.0 points 2.6 points or 2.1 percent lower than the average value in 2023.

However, food prices increased over the course of the year, with the index climbing from 117.6 points in January to 127.0 in December.

The index rose 6.7 percent from December 2023 to 2024, with meat, dairy and food oils accounting for the increase.

The United Nations' food agency tracks monthly and global changes in the international prices of a set of globally traded commodities.

Food prices also remain considerably higher roughly 26 percent than they were five years ago.

The disruption to global trade during the Covid-19 pandemic initially saw food prices dip but they later climbed higher amid the surge in inflation as the global economy rebounded.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent them spiking to records, since both nations are major wheat exporters, but efforts to ensure shipments were not blocked led to prices easing lower until the beginning of 2024.

The dip in the average value for the index between 2023 and 2024 was mainly due to falls in cereals and sugar prices.

Cereals dropped 13.3 compared to 2023, and the FAO's sugar price index fell 13.2 percent.

The decreases were offset in part by a 9.4-percent rise in the vegetable oil price index.

Source: Manila Times