Unemployment rate inches up to 4.5% in Sept

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The country’s unemployment rate inched up in September, while underemployment showed better figures for the month, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

According to the latest Labor Force Survey, the unemployment rate was recorded at 4.5 percent in September 2023.

While lower compared with the 5 percent unemployment rate in the same month of the previous year, it is slightly higher than the unemployment rate in August 2023 at 4.4 percent.

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The number of unemployed persons in September  decreased to 2.26 million from 2.5 million in September 2022, with a year-on-year decline of 234,000 unemployed individuals.

However, the September figure was higher compared with the number of unemployed individuals in August 2023 at 2.21 million.

Year-to-date the unemployment rate averaged at 4.6 percent, well below the 5.3 to 6.4 percent target for 2023.

Meanwhile, the number of underemployed persons was reported at 5.11 million out of the total 47.67 million employed individuals, translating to an underemployment rate of 10.7 percent in September 2023.

The underemployment rate in September 2023 was lower than the reported rate in September 2022 at 15.4 percent and in August 2023 at 11.7 percent.

Underemployed persons are those who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job, an additional job or a new job with longer hours of work.

“The government is committed to improving the investment climate of the country to attract businesses that generate high-quality employment. We will continue to pursue enhancements to existing policies to address concerns in investments, particularly in infrastructure development in areas outside the National Capital Region,” Arsenio Balisacan, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) secretary, said in a statement yesterday.

According to the PSA, the country’s employment rate in September 2023 was estimated at 95.5 percent, higher than the recorded employment rate in September 2022 at 95 percent, but was slightly lower than the 95.6 percent estimate in August 2023.

In terms of magnitude, the number of employed persons 15 years old and over was recorded at 47.67 million in September 2023, compared with 47.58 million in the same month last year.

In August 2023, the number of employed persons was 48.07 million.

NEDA said employment losses were observed in the manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and agriculture and forestry.

The manufacturing sector lost an estimated 888,000 jobs, the wholesale and retail trade sector lost 722,000 jobs, while the agriculture and forestry sector lost 649,000 jobs.

According to NEDA, adverse weather conditions, along with increased input and borrowing costs, resulted in job losses in the wholesale and retail trade and agriculture sectors.

Meanwhile, the PSA said the labor force participation rate (LFPR) last September was posted at 64.1 percent, which was lower than the 65.2 percent LFPR in September 2022 and the 64.7 percent LFPR in August 2023.

The PSA also noted a drop in the LFPR among women, with female LFPR at 53.4 percent in September, lower than the 54.8 percent recorded during the same period last year.

Household duties were among the main causes for this decrease, NEDA said.

“To further reduce barriers to workforce participation, we will continue to promote programs that encourage the adoption of wider alternative work arrangements, allowing people to remain productive from the comfort of their own homes,” Balisacan said.

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The NEDA chief also said the national government will address employment issues by building the resilience of the economy.

“In the coming months, the agriculture sector will likely be adversely affected by the strong El Niño. Guided by the El Niño National Action Plan, the government will implement more programs to develop a more resilient agriculture sector. This will help minimize employment losses in the sector,” Balisacan said.

According to NEDA, facilitating digitalization and promoting innovation in business, especially in micro, small and medium enterprises, will open up more opportunities for high-quality and high-paying jobs for Filipinos.

“This will be supported by expanding training and re-skilling programs for workers to meet the needs of these innovative business,” Balisacan said.

 

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