Further loosening of quarantine measures in the final month of last year ushered in 797,000 additional jobs, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

In his latest DOF economic bulletin, Finance Chief Economist Gil S. Beltran said Wednesday, March 2, that loosened lockdowns generated more economic opportunities last December, particularly for 797,000 people who have been employed.

Beltran noted that for hotels and restaurants sub-sector alone, less stringent quarantine controls have created 1,542 jobs, its highest pandemic-era figure, while the transportation sub-sector added 146,000 more jobs.

But the biggest gainers were agriculture after the sector added 673,000 jobs, followed by industry that generated 326,000 more, and the manufacturing sub-sector, which contributed 325,000 additional workers, Beltran said.

According to the DOF economist, the addition jobs created compensated for the 202,000 jobs shed in the services sector.

“Noteworthy was the continued recovery of tourism-related activities,” said Beltran, who was also a former finance undersecretary.

Due to more economic opportunities, the Philippine labor force topped 49.5 million in December, an increase by 910,000 from November.

“This is partly on account of the 487,000 previously out of the labor force joining the labor market. The labor force participation rate consequently rose to 65.09 percent, the highest during the pandemic,” Beltran said.

But while COVID-19 infection rate is improving, Beltran still said that the country needs to stay alert and not let its guard down as the virus continues to mutate.

“The administration of vaccines will help the country live with the virus,” Beltran said.

Meanwhile, Beltran said that the recent passage of key economic reforms, such as Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, will help bring in more employers and generate more employment in the medium- to long-term.

Other favorable reforms measures cited by Beltran were the amendments to the Foreign Investments Act (FIA), Public Service Act (PSA), and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act (RTLA).

“The recent signing into law the amendments to the RTLA is a welcome development towards faster economic recovery and, ultimately, better employment opportunities,” he said.

On the other hand, the number of unemployed rose by 113,000 in December as the easing of quarantine restrictions encouraged more job seekers.

Consequently, the employment rate slightly declined from 93.5 percent in November to 93.4 percent in December while the unemployment rate inched up from 6.5 percent to 6.6 percent over the same period.