Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 9) — A nationwide survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) found that adult joblessness “hardly moved” in the Philippines, with about 9.6 million Filipinos without work as of December.
In a statement on Wednesday, SWS said the poll found joblessness was at 21.3% of the adult labor force, a slight increase from October and June’s 18.6% and 20.8%, respectively.But the latest data was an improvement from April’s 26%.The SWS said December’s figure translates to 9.6 million jobless adults, up from 8.8 million in October 2022.Joblessness in the period remained highest in Metro Manila at 24.8%, followed by Balance Luzon at 23.1%, the Visayas at 18.6%, and Mindanao at 18.1%. Balance Luzon refers to areas in Luzon outside Metro Manila.While the annual average joblessness fell in all areas, no improvement was recorded in Mindanao.
Meanwhile, the survey’s labor force participation rate — covering adults (18 years and above) with jobs and those looking to secure one — also dropped to 62.6%, or an estimated 45.2 million.
Conducted from Dec. 10 to 14, the survey interviewed 1,200 adults across Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. It has a sampling error margins of ±2.8% for national percentages.The results of this national survey were worst compared to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data released Wednesday, which showed a national unemployment rate of 4.3% or 2.22 million jobless Filipinos in December from 2.18 million a month prior.
READ: Jobless Filipinos at 2.22M in December 2022
According to the PSA, the labor force participation rate in December also stood at 66.4%, translating to 51.22 million people either employed or looking for work. The PSA defines labor participation rate as the percentage of the total number of persons in the labor force to the total population 15 years old and over.
More workers are expected to secure jobs during the fourth quarter of every year as businesses anticipate stronger demand from consumers during the Christmas holidays.
Recruitment agency JobQuest PH, however, explained that applicants and employers may have taken a break from the employment process during the holiday season, which could have affected the unemployment data in December.
JobQuest PH Chief Executive Officer Myria Gamboa said some employers may also have had to cut costs and refrain from hiring as the budget for December also included those allotted for Christmas parties and bonuses.
“Hindi na talaga sila very active by second week of December,” Gamboa told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word.
“For the applicants naman, ganon din sila. On the second week, focus na sila on getting home to their families para sa plans nila for their Christmas. Same po employers and applicants, same sila hindi active pag December,” she added.
[Translation: They really are not very active by the second week of December. For the applicants, they’re the same. On the second week, they are focused on getting home to their families for their Christmas plans. Both employers and applicants are not active during December.]
