People attend a job fair at a mall in Caloocan City on September 15, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATE) - The Philippines unemployment rate climbed in January, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Friday.

The jobless rate was seen at 4.5 percent in January, which was higher than the 3.1 percent seen in December.

This means there were 2.15 million unemployed Filipino workers in January, up from the 1.6 million jobless workers in December.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the jobless rate was also higher compared to the 4.2 percent clip seen in October last year, which corresponded to 2.09 million unemployed workers.

But National Statistician, Undersecretary Dennis Mapa also noted that on a year-on-year basis, the employment situation improved. He noted that the jobless rate in January 2023 was 4.8 percent or 2.38 million unemployed.

The underemployment rate also rose to 13.9 percent from 11.9 percent in December 2023.

This means 6.39 million out of the 45.94 million employed Pinoys were looking for additional work hours or extra jobs. 

The services sector had the highest number of jobs, making up 60.2 percent of the total employment numbers, followed by agriculture at 21.4 percent and industry at 18.4 percent.

In terms of jobs added, construction added the most jobs at 500,000; followed by transportation and storage at 155,000; and administrative and support service activities at 160,000.

Meanwhile, wholesale and retail trade and the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles posted the highest job losses at 1.51 million; followed by agriculture and forestry at 854,000; and public administration and defense and compulsory social security at 226,000.

The services sector had the highest number of jobs, making up 60.2 percent of the total employment numbers, followed by agriculture at 21.4 percent and industry at 18.4 percent.

In terms of jobs added, construction added the most jobs at 500,000; followed by transportation and storage at 155,000; and administrative and support service activities at 160,000.

Meanwhile, wholesale and retail trade and the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles posted the highest job losses at 1.51 million; followed by agriculture and forestry at 854,000; and public administration and defense and compulsory social security at 226,000.

“Kung titingnanan natin yung datos, dumami nga ito…Hindi naman natin masabi na sumipa talaga ito, kaso may mga trabaho nga tayo na nagkaroon ng increases in job opportunities doon sa salary and wages. Mataas lang talaga yung binagsak ng employed person doon sa industries like retail sale,” Mapa explained.

(If we look at the data, it did indeed increase. We can’t say for sure that it skyrocketed, but there were jobs that experienced increases in job opportunities in terms of salary and wages. The employed individuals in industries like retail sales, however, did experience a significant decline.)

Aside from the retail industry, the number of unemployed also increased in the agriculture and forestry sector, public administration, manufacturing and accommodation and food services. 

Mapa explained that this is a normal trend due to the seasonal jobs created every last quarter of the year.  

According to Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) agreed that this is a normal trend in the labor market. But the group warned that the government must prepare for the additional job seekers in the coming months.

ECOP President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. told ABS-CBN News that new graduates will also enter the labor market and will compete with those unemployed who will also seek jobs. He said this number is around 800,000 to 1 million each year.

”Hopefully, bumababa na rin yung inflation rate. Baka naman tuloy-tuloy na rin ng hiring at expansion,” Ortiz-Luis Jr., said.

(Hopefully, the inflation will continue to go down and maybe hiring and expansion will continue.)

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said, the government is committed to creating a favorable business environment to attract more job opportunities.

"The government sustains its push to attract more job-generating investments by creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment. At the same time, linkages between industry, the academe, and the public sector will be strengthened to address skill mismatches in the labor market,” Balisacan said in a statement.

Jobless rate falls in December, but underemployment edges up