MANILA: The proportion of unemployed Filipinos to total labour force sank to another record-low in the final month of 2023.
There were 1.6 million jobless people in December 2023, down from 1.83 million in the preceding month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday (Feb 7).
This put the jobless rate rate to 3.1 per cent, the lowest since the PSA adopted a new definition of “unemployment” back in 2005. It beat the previous record-low unemployment rate of 3.6 per cent recorded in November.
”We welcome the news of a record-low unemployment rate, signifying the economy’s sustained momentum and resiliency of our labor market,” Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority said.
Joblessness eased as 658,000 more people joined the country’s labour force on a month-on-month basis.
Meanwhile, the underemployment rate in December 2023 was recorded at 11.9 per cent, higher than the November figure of 11.7 per cent but lower than the 12.6 per cent rate recorded a year ago. A higher underemployment rate indicates declining job quality. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
