Unemployed Filipinos down in February

HOPEFULS. Jobseekers scour work offer flyers during the “Trabaho Turismo Asenso” job fair at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Thursday (Sept. 19, 2024). The job fair will have its final day on Saturday (Sept. 21). (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

By Anna Leah Gonzales, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The country’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in three months, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

In a briefing on Tuesday, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said preliminary results of the latest Labor Force Survey showed that the unemployment rate further declined to 3.8 percent in February this year from 4.3 percent the previous month.

It was the lowest rate since the 3.1 percent recorded in December last year.

Mapa said the number of unemployed Filipinos declined to 1.94 million from 2.16 million in January this year.

Employment rate on the other hand, rose to 96.2 percent in February this year from 95.7 percent the previous month.

Mapa said the number of employed Filipinos went up to 49.15 million, higher than the 48.49 million and 48.95 million recorded in January this year and in February 2024, respectively.

Industries which recorded the largest increase in employment include accommodation and food service (+377,000), fishing and aquaculture (+365,000), public administration and defense (+330,000), construction (+258,000), and other service activities (+232,000).

Mapa said preparations for the midterm elections and summer holidays helped increase employment in accommodation and food service and other service activities.

Results of the PSA’s latest survey also showed a decline in the number of underemployed Filipinos, or those who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have an extra job, or to have a new job with longer work hours.

The number of underemployed during the month was estimated at 4.96 million, translating to an underemployment rate of 10.1 percent, down from 13.3 percent seen in January this year.