1.6 M new jobs ease unemployment in May

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine labor market added 1.6 million jobs month on month in May, trimming joblessness during that period, latest jobs data showed.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday, July 8, said the unemployment rate– measured as a ratio of those without jobs to the labor force –stood at 3.9% in May, easing from 4.1% in April.

That translates to 2.03 million Filipinos out of work, better than April’s 2.06 million jobless population.

The PSA data showed 1.6 million new jobs have been generated in May alone from April, enough to cover more workers entering the labor force that month–1.59 million new entrants or returning employees that expanded the labor force to 52.32 million in May from 50.74 million a month before.

Of the 1.6 million jobs generated month on month, 819,000 came from the agriculture and forestry sectors amid harvest season.

“Ang ating datos ay maganda [Our latest data is encouraging]. Harvest season na kasi [It’s because it’s harvest season] - growing of corn and paddy rice,” National Statistician Dennis Claire Mapa told a press briefing.

Accommodation and food retail industries added 779,000 jobs during the period, followed by other services (263,000), manufacturing (184,000), and education (150,000).