Employment Rate in April 2022 is Estimated at 94.3 Percent

Employment rate in the country in April 2022 was estimated at 94.3 percent, translating to about 45.63 million employed Filipinos. This was higher compared to the reported employment rate at 91.3 percent in April 2021 or a year-on-year increase of about 2.36 million employed Filipinos from 43.27 million in April 2021.

The country’s unemployment rate has improved from the reported 8.7 percent a year ago to 5.7 percent in April 2022. Unemployment rate was posted at 6.4 percent in January 2022.

In terms of magnitude, the total number of unemployed individuals 15 years old and over in April 2022 was registered at 2.76 million. It was lower by 1.38 million from the number of unemployed persons in April 2021.

Persons in the labor force or the number of persons 15 years old and over reported as either employed or unemployed was estimated at 48.39 million in April 2022. This was higher compared to the 47.41 million Filipinos in the labor force for the same period last year. The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in April 2022 was likewise higher at 63.4 percent compared to the reported 63.2 percent in April last year.

Source: PSA

Fewer Filipinos unemployed in November 2021

The number of unemployed Filipinos decreased from 3.50 million in October to 3.16 million in November 2021.

According to PSA, the country’s unemployment rate of 6.5 percent in November was so far the lowest in 2021. In October, the figure was at 7.4 percent.

The second-lowest unemployment rate so far for 2021 was in July at 6.9 percent, while the third lowest was in September at 7.1 percent. The unemployment rate was highest in September at 8.9 percent.

The country’s employment rate also picked up from 92.6 percent in October to 93.5 percent in November, the highest reported since the start of 2021. PSA said this was equivalent to 45.48 million employed individuals. The figure was at 43.83 million in October, and 43.59 million in September.

Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate (LFPR) in November was estimated at 64.2 percent, translating to 48.64 million individuals aged 15 years old and above who were either employed or unemployed.

“This LFPR was higher than the LFPR reported from January to October 2021 except in March and June 2021, both at 65.0 percent, and May 2021 (64.6%). Labor Force posted a month-on-month increment of 1.31 million individuals from the 47.33 million reported in October 2021,” PSA said in its report.

Youth labor force participation rate in November was posted at 37.5 percent, higher than the youth LFPR in October at 35.7 percent.

PSA said that youth employment rate in November was estimated at 86.6 percent, also the highest so far in 2021.

Source: Inquirer and PSA

Unemployment Rate in September 2021 is Estimated at 8.9 Percent

The Philippines' unemployment rate rose to 8.9% in September 2021, even as the government somewhat eased restrictions despite surging COVID-19 cases.

This is the highest unemployment rate for 2021, so far, or since the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) began releasing monthly labor force data.

But it could also be viewed as the highest since the 10% recorded in July 2020, when the PSA released labor force data on a quarterly basis.

In a briefing on Thursday, November 4, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the latest figure is equivalent to 4.25 million jobless Filipinos.

Last August, when Metro Manila and other urban areas were placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the unemployment rate stood at 8.1%, equivalent to 3.88 million people with no work.

The underemployment rate, or the percentage of the working population looking for more work, went down to 14.2% or 6.18 million Filipinos in September from 14.7% or 6.48 million Filipinos in August.

A total of 43.59 million Filipinos had work in September, bringing the employment rate to 91.1%. This is lower than August's 91.9% or 44.23 million.

In the first half of September, the Philippines logged the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a day at over 26,000, forcing President Rodrigo Duterte to keep the capital region and key cities under modified ECQ.

Metro Manila then shifted to general community quarantine with Alert Level 4, a new lockdown scheme, in the second half of September.

"These results were expected as many parts of the country remained under stringent and blanket quarantines for most of the survey period," said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua.

Sectors

Mapa explained that bad weather conditions contributed to the increase in unemployment in September.

Some 862,000 jobs in agriculture and forestry were lost in September, the highest among industries.

Typhoon Jolina (Conson) affected some 30,000 hectares of agricultural land across the regions of Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas. This decline came after the sector regained 1.9 million jobs in August.

Manufacturing also lost some 343,000 jobs, followed by information and communication (126,000), mining and quarrying (75,000), and real estate activities (69,000).

Meanwhile, wholesale and retail trade registered the largest increase at 353,000, followed by public administration and defense (118,000), education (115,000), construction (105,000), and administrative and support services (89,000).

Employment increased by 414,000 in the services sector, mostly driven by wholesale and retail trade, tempering the net employment loss in September.

The government's economic managers expect employment figures to improve in the coming months, as the economy reopens due to the decline in COVID-19 cases.

"Overall, the economy has generated 1.1 million employment above the pre-pandemic level. This signals the Philippines' continuing recovery. We look forward to the expansion of the alert level and granular lockdown system to the whole country to recover more jobs and livelihoods," Chua said.

The National Economic and Development Authority estimated that the total cost of the coronavirus' strain on the health system and the lockdowns would be P41.4 trillion over the next 40 years.

Source: PSA and Rappler