A nationwide survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 found that joblessness among adults was down in the third quarter of 2023.

The survey, which had 1,200 respondents, revealed a decline in the joblessness rate to 16.9 percent.

“This was 5.8 points below the 22.8 percent in June 2023 and the lowest since the 15.7 percent in December 2017,” SWS said in its report released on Thursday, Dec. 21.

It estimated 7.9 million jobless Filipinos in September, down from 10.3 million in June.

SWS said those considered jobless are those who have left their old jobs voluntarily, are looking for work for the first time, or have lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control.

Joblessness highest in Balance Luzon, among college grads

SWS said adult joblessness was highest in Balance Luzon at 20.8 percent, followed by Metro Manila at 19.2 percent, Mindanao at 12.4 percent, and the Visayas at 12.2 percent.

Compared to June, the quarterly joblessness fell from 29.8 percent in Balance Luzon, 24.3 percent in Metro Manila, 15.5 percent in Mindanao, and 15.6 percent in the Visayas.

It also found that adult joblessness was slightly higher in urban areas at 18 percent than in rural areas at 15.7 percent.

Compared to the previous quarter, joblessness fell from 24.7 percent in urban areas and 21 percent in rural areas.

The latest survey also revealed that adult joblessness was highest among college graduates at 25.6 percent, followed by junior high school graduates at 19.1 percent, elementary graduates at 14.5 percent, and non-elementary graduates at 3.1 percent.

Meanwhile, SWS said joblessness stayed higher among women at 21.1 percent than among men at 14 percent.

There was a decrease in joblessness from 27.3 percent for women and 19.8 percent for men in June.

SWS also found that joblessness was highest among the 18-to-24-year-olds at 34.4 percent followed by the 25-to-34-year-olds at 22.7 percent, 35-to-44-year-olds at 16.5 percent, and those 45 years old and above at 11.9 percent.

“Compared to June 2023, joblessness fell from 52.3 percent among the 18-to-24-year-olds, 27.5 percent among the 25-to-34-year-olds, 19.3 percent among the 35-to-44-year-olds, and 17.6 percent among those 45 years old and above,” it added.