Manila, Philippines – Unemployment worsened in October despite a thinner labor force month-on-month, with nearly half a million job cuts in the construction sector alone in wake of a corruption scandal that forced a suspension in public works.
The jobless rate in October was 5 percent, worse than September’s 3.8 percent, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data released on Wednesday, Dec. 10, showed.
That rate – measured as a proportion of those without work to the labor force aged 15 and up – is equivalent to 2.54 million jobless people in October versus September’s 1.96 million.
The labor force population that month was 51.16 million, shrinking from September’s 51.56 million, which meant fewer Filipinos needing jobs and yet still were not hired.
The results ran counter to the seasonal peaks in hiring when employers add more headcount – albeit temporary – to meet higher consumer demand in the run-up to the Christmas and New Year holidays.
A congressional inquiry into the use of public funds in flood control projects that erupted in September had prompted the government to suspend the bidding of infrastructure contracts and halt road blocking works.
PSA data showed the construction sector shed 308,000 jobs in September alone.
By October, builders shaved headcount by 414,000 more.
The job cuts spilled over to construction’s peripheral businesses like plumbing and heat insulation (-10,000) as well as utility contracts (-18,000), the PSA said.
“The sub-sector where there had been a substantial drop in employment, month on month in October versus September was the construction of buildings with a decline of 414,000,” National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa told a press briefing in Filipino.
“So the biggest drag month on month came from the drop in workers in construction of buildings,” he said.
Of the regions, Calabarzon reported the worst unemployment rate at 6.4 percent topping the national average.
Underemployment – an indicator of the quality of jobs – also worsened somewhat. The rate was 12 percent in October, versus 11.1 percent in September.
Eight-five percent of the young labor force aged 15 to 24 years old found jobs that month, shrinking from 88.4 percent in September.
