There were fewer jobless Filipinos in July as the unemployment rate fell to its lowest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
According to the latest Labor Force Survey, the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.2 percent in July 2022 from 7.2 percent in the same period last year. This is also the lowest unemployment rate for all July rounds of the Labor Force Survey since 2005.
The number of unemployed persons declined to 2.6 million in July 2022, from 3.23 million in July 2021. In June 2022, the number of unemployed persons was estimated at 2.99 million.
“We expect more jobs and income opportunities available for Filipinos in the coming months as we move toward the full reopening of the economy,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement yesterday.
“These opportunities will help temper the impact of global inflationary pressures on the purchasing power of Filipinos,” he added.
The underemployment rate plunged to 13.8 percent from 21 percent in July 2021. This is equivalent to 2.2 million fewer underemployed individuals.
However, the underemployment rate rose from 12.6 percent in the previous month.
The labor force participation rate increased to 65.2 percent, with over 5.1 million individuals joining the labor force in July 2022.
Meanwhile, the total number of employed individuals rose to 47.4 million, bringing the employment rate to 94.8 percent, the highest recorded since the start of the pandemic.
“The continuous reopening of schools is a pivotal step for all economic players. The latest data show that as more youth have opted to return to face-to-face classes, women were also relieved from additional care work at home, allowing for more possibilities for them to be economically active,” Balisacan said.
The National Economic and Development Authority pointed out that majority of the increase in employment came from the services sector, particularly in wholesale and retail trade. This is followed by the agriculture and industry sectors.
“We need to intensify the vaccination program by increasing the country’s booster rate to sustain low alert levels and reinvigorate domestic economic activity,” Balisacan added.
Meanwhile, labor groups Partido Manggagawa (PM) and Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) pointed at having more part-time jobs being created in the country as the ones prompting the decline in unemployment rate.
In separate statements, PM chairman Rene Magtubo and SENTRO secretary-general Josua Mata said the rise in underemployment rate in the July 2022 Labor Force Survey results can easily explain why there are fewer jobless Filipinos.
“The drop signifies improvement in employment generation brought about by the continued opening up of the economy,” said Magtubo.
“It is important to note, however, that there is also an increase in underemployment rate, which also signifies that the nature of jobs created remain temporary or contractual,” he added.
“As expected, jobs are coming as the economy continue to open. But the quality of jobs being generated is worrisome,” said Mata.
“What we are seeing are more part time jobs than full-time jobs. As such, there are more employed people seeking for more work as indicated by increasing underemployment,” he added. With Gerard Naval
