The country’s unemployment rate inched up in June versus the previous month’s level, as more people joined the labor force during the said period.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in June from 4.3 percent the previous month.
It is, however, significantly below the 6 percent jobless rate recorded in the same period a year ago.
The underemployment rate likewise rose to 12 percent from 11.7 percent in May, but is also better than the 12.6 percent posted in June last year.
In nominal terms, the PSA reported that the number of unemployed persons last June decreased to 2.33 million from 2.99 million in June 2022, posting a year-on-year decline of 663,000 unemployed persons.
However, the number of unemployed persons in June 2023 was higher by 159,000 compared with those who were unemployed in May 2023.
National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa attributed this to more people participating in the labor force, as reflected in the 66.1 percent labor force participation rate (LFPR) for June from 65.3 percent in May and 64.8 percent a year ago.
The higher LFPR translated to 741,000 more individuals looking for jobs in June versus May, Mapa said in a press conference yesterday.
“But not all of them became employed. Those who were able to find jobs were 581,000, but 159,000 were not able to find work,” he said.
Mapa added some were waiting for job recall during the survey period, while there could also be some skills mismatch for some jobseekers.
The country’s employment rate in June 2023 was estimated at 95.5 percent.
This was higher than the reported 94 percent employment rate in the same month last year, but slightly lower than the 95.7 percent estimate in May 2023.
In terms of magnitude, the number of employed persons stood at 48.84 million in June 2023, while it was 46.59 million in June 2022. In May 2023, the number of employed persons was 48.26 million.
In a statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reaffirmed the government’s commitment to labor upskilling to improve employability and maximize the benefits of the country’s demographic dividend.
“As the number of young workers continues to expand, the administration is exerting efforts to focus on training and upskilling to improve their employability for high-quality and high-paying jobs,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
“Modernizing training and vocational education facilities, as well as enhancing educational qualifications, competencies and skills, are necessary to respond to the emergence of new demands for competencies and skills. These demands are a result of economic and technological transformations brought by emerging technologies in the market, such as artificial intelligence,” he added.
