MANILA: Philippine jobless rate climbed to the highest in four years as fresh graduates sought work in an economy that slowed due to a corruption scandal and the global oil shock.
July unemployment rate stood at 6%, the statistics agency reported on Tuesday (Sept 8). That matches the rate in June 2022, when the economy was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. The capital region of Metro Manila logged the highest jobless rate of 8.2%, partly due to the influx of new graduates.
More than 3.7 million people joined the labour market from a year ago and not all of them were absorbed by employers, National Statistician Dennis Mapa told a briefing. More than a million of them were aged 15-24 years, who transitioned from schooling, he said.
The latest jobs data comes as the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is already under pressure by rising cost of living as the Philippines grapples with the highest inflation in Southeast Asia and companies wary of hiring more people amid slower economic expansion.
Philippine economic growth sharply slowed to 2.3% in the second quarter. Businesses have also become more pessimistic, with overall confidence index down to -20.3% in July from zero in June, according to the latest central bank survey.
The central bank said that over the next 12 months, fewer firms indicated plans to hire additional workers amid expectations of softer growth and elevated inflation.
"More Filipinos are participating in the labour market, which means that we need to intensify efforts to attract investments, especially those that create quality jobs,” Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement. - Bloomberg
