UNEMPLOYMENT RATE LOWEST SINCE APRIL 2005: PSA

MANILA (UPDATE) - The Philippines' unemployment rate fell in October compared to September while the underemployment rate climbed, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Thursday.

The PSA said the jobless rate was at 4.2 percent percent in October, which was lower than the 4.5 percent rate reported in September.

This translated to 2.09 million million jobless Filipino workers in October compared to 2.26 million in the preceding month.

“The reported unemployment rate in October 2023 was the lowest since April 2005,” the PSA said.

The jobless rate in October this year was also lower than the 4.5 percent rate seen in the same month last year, and the 4.8 percent clip seen in July this year.

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The underemployment rate meanwhile was at 11.7 percent in October, which was higher than the 10.7 percent clip in September.

This was however lower than the 15.9 percent rate seen in July, and the 14.2 percent rate seen in October last year.

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National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the top five sub-sectors that added the most jobs in terms of annual increase in October 2023 were the following:
a. Accommodation and food service activities (291,000)
b. Administrative and support service activities (224,000)
c. Transportation and storage (149,000)
d. Public administration and defense; compulsory social security (98,000)
e. Human health and social work activities (86,000)

Meanwhile, the following five sub-sectors posted the highest yearly job losses:
a. Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
(-193,000)
b. Mining and quarrying (-75,000);
c. Manufacturing (-73 thousand);
d. Arts, entertainment, and recreation (-36,000)
e. Fishing and aquaculture (-30,000)

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National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan noted that most employment generated is middle (+334,000) and high-skill occupations (+897,000).

This is primarily due to the expansion in tourism-related and IT-BPO sectors, NEDA said.

Balisacan said he expects the conditions in the Philippine labor market to improve further, given the thrust of the Marcos Administration to encourage trade and investment and reinvigorate job generation.

“We can make the labor market more inclusive with the entry of more investments, especially those that bring in new and better technology. At the same time, we need to expand and enhance learning opportunities to ensure that we equip Filipinos for future jobs,” added Balisacan.

He is also optimistic that more jobs would be generated after the signing of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code, which he said created a more stable and predictable policy environment for collaboration in high-impact infrastructure projects.

“The passage of the PPP Code is just one of many recent reforms that have made the Philippines more attractive to foreign investors. It provides the government with a more solid ecosystem for investments, which, in turn, generates employment opportunities for Filipino workers in several critical growth areas, including infrastructure,” explained Balisacan.

The PSA’s definition of unemployment differs from that used by some independent research organizations like the Social Wearther Stations.

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