Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 1) — A survey released Monday by the Social Weather Stations said joblessness in the adult labor force fell in the last quarter of 2020.
“The national Social Weather Survey of Nov. 21-25, 2020, found adult joblessness at 27.3% of the adult labor force. This is down by 12 points from the 39.5% in September 2020,” said the pollster.
It added that there were around 12.7 million jobless adults in November, compared to 23.7 million in September of the same year.
The SWS defines the labor force as adults 18 years old and above presently with a job, plus those looking for a job. The Labor Force Participation Rate is the proportion of adults in the labor force. Meanwhile, jobless adults are those who (a) voluntarily left their old jobs, (b) are seeking jobs for the first time, or (c) lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control.
The SWS said that in November 2020, there were around 46.3 million adults in the labor force (66.7% Labor Force Participation Rate). In September of the same year, there were 60.1 million (86.5%).
There was a record-high joblessness in July 2020 at 45.5%, or equivalent to around 27.3 million adults.
“The resulting average joblessness rate for 2020 is a record-high 37.4%. The previous record was a 28.8% average in 2012. The average in 2019 was 19.8%,” said the SWS.
The same poll said the joblessness rate fell sharply in the Visayas: 19.1% in November from a whopping 52% in September. There was also a marked decline in Mindanao which was at 40% in September to 17% in November.
There was only a slight decrease in Metro Manila and Balance Luzon: 39.9% to 37.8% and 33.5% to 32.7%, respectively.
The SWS noted that 63% of adults in the workforce said their lives worsened compared to 14% who said it improved. Meanwhile, 23% said it stayed the same.
“However, the same survey found half among the jobless saying their lives will improve in the next 12 months (Optimists), higher than the 42% among those with a job/livelihood. Moreover, less among the jobless are saying their lives will worsen (Pessimists),” it said.
The Fourth Quarter 2020 Social Weather Survey, the first in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was conducted from Nov. 21-25, 2020, using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults nationwide.
