PH hits all-time low underemployment rate
In September
At A Glance
- Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the underemployment rate in the Philippines dropped below its pre-pandemic level, reaching a record low of 10.7 percent in September 2023.<br>The services sector remained the largest employer, accounting for 60.4 percent of total employment, followed by Agriculture (21.5 percent) and Industry (18.1 percent).<br>The sub-sectors that saw increases in employment were accommodation and food service activities, administrative and support service activities, construction, transportation and storage, and fishing and aquaculture.<br>However, there were employment losses in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and agriculture and forestry.<br>The manufacturing sector experienced a decline in foreign orders for the first time in nine months.<br>The Philippine economy maintained generally good labor and employment conditions, with improvements in major indicators compared to the previous year.<br>The government aims to intensify measures to improve the economic environment, particularly addressing the lower labor force participation rate and higher youth unemployment rate.
The Department of Finance (DOF) said the job quality for Filipinos is steadily improving, with the country's underemployment rate dropping below its pre-pandemic level.
In a statement, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the underemployment rate of 10.7 percent recorded in September was the lowest ever recorded since the earliest available data in April 2005.
He also said this figure was notably lower than the pre-pandemic level of 14.8 percent, as well as the rates of 15.4 percent in September 2022 and 11.7 percent in August of the current year.
"President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s ultimate goal is to bring down unemployment to four to five percent in 2028,” Diokno said on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
Unemployment rate is currently at 4.6 percent, way better than the 5.3 percent to 6.4 percent target for 2023, he said.
According to Diokno, the rise in employment is mainly driven by the increased number of higher-paying jobs, with 1.3 million additional wage and salary workers, particularly in the private sector.
Employment rate for September stood at 95.5 percent, higher than the 95 percent posted in the same period last year but slightly lower than the 95.6 percent recorded in August.
The labor force participation rate (LFPR) was recorded at 64.1 percent in September 2023, slightly lower than LFPRs of 65.2 percent and 64.7 percent for September 2022 and August 2023, respectively.
The services sector continued to take the top spot in terms of employment with a share of 60.4 percent in September 2023. This was followed by Agriculture (21.5 percent) and Industry (18.1 percent).
In terms of sub-sectors, the following recorded annual increases in the number of employed persons: accommodation and food service activities (608,000); administrative and support service activities (535,000); construction (481,000); transportation and storage (255,000); and fishing and aquaculture (193,000).
However, employment losses versus the prior year were experienced in manufacturing (-888,000), wholesale and retail trade (-722,000), and agriculture and forestry (-649,000).
The manufacturing sector experienced a decline in new orders from abroad for the first time in nine months.
Moreover, the decline in agriculture and forestry employment stemmed from recent weather disturbances, which disrupted various economic activities in the agricultural sector. This partly drove the decrease in employment opportunities.
In terms of youth unemployment, the rate increased to 13.1 percent in September 2023, from 11.5 percent in the same period last year and 12.2 percent in August 2023.
Nevertheless, the youth underemployment rate considerably improved to 9.1 percent from 12.1 percent in the same period last year and 9.7 percent in August 2023. This was also an improvement from 12.5 percent during the pre-pandemic period.
Youth LFPR decreased to 33.1 percent from 36.7 percent a year ago and 34.9 percent in the previous month due to the return to schooling of most youth learners.
“The Philippine economy continues to maintain generally good labor and employment conditions as most of the major indicators improved relative to the same period a year ago,” Diokno said.
“The government will further intensify its measures to help improve the economic environment, particularly with the lower labor force participation rate and higher youth unemployment rate,” he added.
The national government is working with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to help arrest inflation, which is crucial in maintaining macroeconomic stability.