SWS: Jobless Filipinos increased in Q3 of 2019

The SWS said jobless adults are composed of “(a) those who voluntarily left their old jobs, (b) those seeking jobs for the first time, and (c) those who lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control, termed by SWS as the retrenched.” (File Photo: Department of Labor and Employment – DOLE/Facebook)

Jobless Filipinos have multiplied in September 2019 as shown in the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released on Saturday, November 23.

According to the Third Quarter 2019 Social Weather Survey, joblessness rate went up to 21.5 percent, which translates to 10 million unemployed adults who are part of the labor force.

This is 0.8 percent higher than the 20.7 percent in June and a 1.8 percent increase from March’s 19.7 percent.

The SWS said jobless adults are composed of “(a) those who voluntarily left their old jobs, (b) those seeking jobs for the first time, and (c) those who lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control, termed by SWS as the retrenched.”

Among the 10 million unemployed Filipinos in September, 4.4 million adults voluntarily left their jobs, 1.6 million were first-time job seekers, and 3.9 million were retrenched.

Unemployment rate increased in Balance Luzon at 25 percent, Mindanao at 19.9 percent, and Metro Manila at 24.5 percent, but it fell in Visayas at 11.8 percent, the SWS reported.

The survey also showed that joblessness rate has been “consistently higher” among women at 31.4 percent, than among men at 14.6 percent.

It also revealed that adult joblessness has been “consistently highest” among the 18 to 24 years old, compared to the other age groups.

The pollster also asked its 1,800 respondents the question: Sa darating na 12 buwan mula ngayon, sa palagay ba ninyo ay DADAMI, HINDI MAGBABAGO, o MABABAWASAN ang trabaho na maaaring pasukan (Twelve months from now, do you think there will be MORE JOBS, NO CHANGE in available jobs, or FEWER JOBS)?”

Responding to this, 53 percent said they are optimistic that there will be more job opportunities for them, while 13 percent were pessimistic. Twenty-one percent said there will be “no change” in the number of jobs available, while 12 percent said they “don’t know.”

Optimism on job availability was at “excellent” +40 net rating, a three-point decrease from the record-high +43 in June, according to the SWS.

The latest survey was conducted from September 27 to 30 using face-to-face interviews of the respondents nationwide.

It has sampling error margins of plus/minus 2.3 percent for national percentages, plus/minus four percent each for Balance Luzon and Mindanao, and plus/minus six percent each for Metro Manila and Visayas.