📷 Philippine News Agency
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday, June 6, that the country’s unemployment rate increased to 4% percent in April from 3.9 percent in March due to the El Niño phenomenon, which caused key sectors of the economy to lose more jobs in that month.
In a news conference, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the PSA’s Labor Force Survey revealed there were 2.04 million unemployed persons in April compared to 2 million in March.
But the latest figure was less than the 2.26 million unemployed Filipinos in April 2023.
Mapa said the dry spell had a significant effect on the agriculture industry, which saw the largest employment decline in April.
“Nakita natin yang production natin sa first quarter, sa crops in particular, humina. So puwede na dahlia sa impact ng El Niño, because the production was lower, you have that decrease also in employed,” Mapa said.
The employment rate, meanwhile, declined to 96 percent ihttps://thecitypost.net/jobless-rate-climbs-to-4-in-april/n April from 96.1 percent in March.
Meaning, the number of employed individuals in April decreased to 48.36 million from 49.15 million in March.
The March employment figure was higher than April 2023’s 48.06 million.
PSA data also showed the underemployment rate, or the number of people who are currently employed but are still seeking more work or longer working hours relative to the total employed population, rose to 14.6 percent in April from 11 percent in March.
This translates to 7.04 million Filipinos seeking a second job or longer working hours in April, up from 5.39 million in the previous month.
April’s unemployment rate was the highest since July 2023, when it was at 15.9 percent.
Sought for comments on the latest employment statistics, National Economic and Development Authority Arsenio Balisacan said the government would keep giving priority to establishing well-paying positions that are of high quality to solve the issue of vulnerable employment.
“The government aims to assist Filipino workers in the digital age. Initiatives include reducing job search duration, upskilling the workforce, and facilitating the transition towards higher-income jobs,” Balisacan said. (TCSP)
