MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Philippine unemployment rate hit 4.8 percent or 2.37 million in January 2023 from 4.3 percent or 2.22 million in December 2022, said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on March 9, 2023.
The PSA also highlighted that this estimated rate is lower than the unemployment rate reported in the same month last year at 6.4 percent.
The agency also cited a Labor force survey showing a comparison of results for the Labor Force Survey (LFS) from 2019 to 2022 and January 2023.
The results show that the Labor Participation Rate declined from 66.4 % to 64.5%, and the Employment Rate went down from 95.7% to 95.2%. In contrast, the Underemployment Rate and Unemployment Rate Increased by around 2%.
Philippine Unemployment rate breakdown
Construction ( -134 thousand); Water supply; sewerage, waste management, and remediation services (-34 thousand); and professionals, scientific and technical activities (-29 thousand) were the three sectors that showed a drop in the number of employed individuals from January 2022 to January 2023.
In terms of region, five regions registered unemployment rates higher than the national rate of 4.8 percent in January 2023, namely: Region V (6.6%), CALABARZON (5.9%), National Capital Region (5.7%), Region VI (5.6%), and Caraga (5.0%).
In a press conference, PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa said there were 2.37 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and above who were jobless during the month.
He further explained that there is an expectation of a higher unemployment rate at the start of the year in comparison to the last quarter of the previous year’s increase in holiday-related jobs.
Meanwhile, Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority emphasized that policies and programs that directly boost labor productivity and generate employment should be made a priority, not only to maintain the job market but also to ensure the quality of jobs that are created. – WhatALife!/Anthony
ALSO READ: PSA reports 8.7 percent inflation rate in January 2023
Leave a Reply