The country’s unemployment and underemployment rate eased in August as more female Filipinos got hired ahead of the ‘ber’ months, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Tuesday, October 8.
Data from PSA’s latest Labor Force survey showed that the country’s unemployment rate decreased to 4 percent in August from 4.7 percent in July, which was lower than the 4.4 percent recorded in August 2023.
The rate translated to 2.07 million unemployed Filipinos in August, a decline from 2.38 million in July and lower than the 2.22 million unemployed Pinoys in August 2023.
The underemployment rate dropped to 11.2 percent in August, down from 12.1 percent in July and 11.7 percent in the same month last year. Meaning, 5.48 million people were classified as underemployed in August, a decrease from 5.78 million in July and 5.63 million in August of the previous year.
Meanwhile, the country’s employment rate increased to 96% in August, with 49.15 million people employed, compared to 95.3% in July, when 47.7 million were employed. This latest figure is also higher than the 95.6% employment rate recorded in August of last year.
In a briefing, National Statistician and PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa noted that a key factor contributing to the improvement in the country’s employment figures was the increased participation of women in the workforce and their integration into various industries.
“Karamihan sa kanila, 1.085 million, worked for more than 40 hours,” Mapa said, meaning that majority of these female workers were not underemployed and were employed in salaried or higher-quality positions.
He further mentioned that female workers were absorbed into four key sectors: wholesale and retail trade, public administration and defense, accommodation and food services, and other services like personal care.
Another factor that could contribute to job creation is the decline in inflation. The inflation rate dropped to 1.9 percent in September, and Mapa noted that this could boost consumer confidence and spending, which may, in turn, help generate more jobs.
“You know sa ating GDP, yung household final consumption expenditure, substantial noon over our total GDP. So kung maraming bumibili, particularly nitong last quarter natin, that would create jobs, particularly dito sa ating sales and services sector. Ang kanyang impact is positive. But of course, we will have to look at the figure by the end of September,” Mapa said. (TCSP)
