A JULY 3 to 16 special mobile survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) found that about 45.5 percent of adult Filipinos, or an estimated 27.3 million, are jobless, the highest since March 2012.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a way he was glad that it was just 45.5 percent as it could have been worse and reached 100 percent given the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic affecting the country.
The Department of Labor and Employment, meanwhile, said it was “seriously concerned” over the high joblessness rate in the country.
“Reeling from the very serious impact of the global pandemic, it is no surprise that the crisis has its highest toll on jobs and employment. We understand that the global pandemic has virtually wiped out the employment gains in the last decade,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said. “This is something that seriously concerns us.”
The SWS said 45.5 percent is 28 points higher than the 17.5 percent recorded in December 2019 and 11.1 points up from the record high 34.4 percent adult joblessness rating recorded in March 2012.
Adult joblessness consists of those who voluntarily left their old jobs, are seeking jobs for the first time, or lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control.
SWS said of those who claimed to be jobless, 21 percent said they lost their job or livelihood during the COVID-19 pandemic while another 21 percent said they became jobless before the health crisis. Forty-seven percent said they still have a job/livelihood at the time of the interview while 11 percent said they never had a job/livelihood before.
The survey, which involved 1,555 adults with a margin of error of ±2 percent, found that joblessness was highest in the Visayas with 47 percent (up from 16 percent in December), followed by those in Mindanao with 46 percent (up from 21 percent), Luzon with 45 percent (up from 167 percent), and Metro Manila with 44 percent (up from 15 percent).
More people from the rural areas or 46 percent (up from 20 percent) claimed that they are jobless than those from the urban areas or 44 percent (up from 15 percent).
More women found themselves jobless with 56 percent (up from 31 percent), than men with 36 percent (up from 8 percent).
Joblessness rose among all age groups with more people from the 18-24 year-olds bracket experiencing it or 63.4 percent (up from 31.8 percent) followed by those from the 25-34 year-olds group with 48.4 percent (up from 20.7 percent), 35-44 year-olds with 41.9 percent (up from 19.2 percent), and 45 years old and above with 39.7 percent (up from 11.8 percent).
Roque, in a briefing, said the higher joblessness rate was not surprising given the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that were implemented since late March. — With Gerard Naval
