The underemployment rate increased to 12.1% in June from 9.9% in the preceding month. — AFP
MANILA: The Philippine’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.1% in June as more Filipinos entered the labour force, particularly in the construction sector, which saw a boost from increased economic activity.
The figure was released by from the Philippine Statistics Authority on Wednesday.
This translated to 2.04 million unemployed Filipinos.
Preliminary results of the statistics agency’s June round of the Labour Force Survey showed the unemployment rate in June matched the December 2023 figure and marked the lowest since 2005.
This was an improvement from 4.1% in the previous month and the 4.5% last year.
The underemployment rate – the share of those already working but still looking for more work or longer working hours to the total employed population – increased to 12.1% in June from 9.9% in the preceding month and 12% a year ago.
This translated to six million Filipinos looking for an additional job or longer working hours.
Underemployment in June was the highest since the 14.6% in April
The labour force participation rate – the proportion of total labour in the working-age population of 15 years old and over – went up to 66% from 64.8% in the previous month but lower than 66.1% last year.
Likewise, the employment rate rose to 96.9%, up from 95.9% logged in May.
There were 50.2 million employed Filipinos in June, higher than 48.8 million in the previous month and 48.8 million a year ago.
The employment rate matched the December 2023 result.
By broad industry groups, the services sector remained the top sector in terms of the number of employed persons with a share of 58.7% of the total employed persons.
The agriculture and industry sectors accounted for 21.1% and 20.2%, respectively, of the employed persons. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
