Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 11) — The number of unemployed Filipinos hit 2.47 million in February, an increase from the 2.37 million recorded a month prior, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.
This is equivalent to a national unemployment rate of 4.8%.During a briefing, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said that while labor force participation rate jumped to 66.6%, increasing by 1.55 million individuals either employed or looking for jobs, only 1.45 million of them secured work.Mayroong dagdag sa labor force participation — substantial portion sa kanila ay nakahanap ng trabaho, pero hindi lahat ay na-absorb ng labor market,” he said.[Translation: There is an increase in labor force participation — a substantial portion of them find work, but not all are absorbed by the labor market.]This added up to the rise in unemployment numbers, he said.But he reiterated that the unemployment situation has been improving beginning the second half of 2022 when the Marcos administration vowed to do away with lockdowns.Mapa said that as long as the government continued to do away with tougher restrictions, the labor force participation rate would remain above the 65% level.Meanwhile, the employment rate stood at 95.2%, with 48.8 million employed people.The underemployment rate, on the other hand, fell to 12.9%, or about 6.29 million employed persons wanting to work longer hours and secure better job opportunities.According to the PSA data, wholesale and retail trade posted the highest increase in employment year-on-year with about 701,000 jobs. It is followed by accommodation and food service activities; agriculture and forestry; other service activities; and fishing and aquaculture.
