Manila, Philippines – Joblessness worsened to 4.4 percent in November last year from 3.2 percent during the same month of 2024 as typhoons Tino and Uwan paralyzed economic activity in climate-vulnerable sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday, Jan. 7.
The Labor Force Survey showed job cuts of 590,000 in November alone, expanding the population of jobless Filipinos to 2.25 million that month versus year-ago’s 1.66 million.
“November if you recall, may dalawang major typhoons tayo na nakaapekto talaga sa ating bansa. Yung Tino very wide yung coverage saka Uwan… so partly kasi doon tayo nagkaroon tayo ng impact sa accommodation and food service activities saka yung retail trade,” National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa told a press briefing.
“Ang reading namin is that because of these typhoons, nagkaroon ng slowdown in economic activities related to tourism – sa accommodation and of course, sa retail trade,” Mapa said.
[TRANSLATION: If you recall, there were two major typhoons in November that adversely affected the economy. The devastation from Tino and Uwan was wide… so that partly had an impact on accommodation and food service activities as well as retail trade.
Our reading is that because of these typhoons, economic activities related to tourism slowed down.]
The job losses were most pronounced in the tourism industry with restaurants and hotels trimming headcount by 309,000, the data showed.
Businesses offering short-term stays laid off 76,000 workers, while event catering lost 23,000 jobs, Mapa said.
Wholesale and retail trade shed another 300,000 jobs, while service activities from wellness to repair of household appliances, home and garden services cut a combined 250,000 jobs.
Factories also pared jobs by 150,000, mostly for work related to assembling semiconductors and electronic components, according to data.
The outcome disappointed those who bet that the run-up to the Christmas holidays would spur more jobs, albeit temporary.
“The expectation is that year-on-year magkaroon tayo ng pagtaas kasi nga it’s the ber months,” Mapa said.
[TRANSLATION: The expectation is that year-on-year there will be an increase in employment since it’s the -ber months.]
The data, however, showed underemployment – which counts those with jobs but seeking longer work hours – eased to 10.4 percent, from 10.8 percent a year ago.
“Both indicators remain within the government’s target ranges of 4.8-5.1 percent for unemployment and 13-14 percent for underemployment for 2025,” Department of Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.
