MANILA: The Philippines’ unemployment rate rose modestly in September as job creation failed to keep pace with the growing labour force, pointing to mixed conditions in the country’s labour market.
The Philippine Statistics Authority last Friday said the jobless rate inched up to 5.4% of the labour force in September from 5.3% in August. This put the number of jobless Filipinos at 2.86 million, up from 2.77 million in the previous month.
The latest reading was nearly flat month-on-month but marked another increase after unemployment eased in August for the first time following three straight months of increases.
This came as more Filipinos entered the labour force, with the labour force participation rate climbing to 64.5% from 64%, equivalent to 53.19 million Filipinos from 52.56 million.
Meanwhile, the number of workers seeking additional jobs or longer working hours to increase their income further eased, with the underemployment rate falling to 11% from 11.9%. This represented 5.56 million underemployed Filipinos, down from 5.9 million in August.
The employment rate was nearly unchanged at 94.6% from 94.7% in August, although the number of employed Filipinos rose to 50.32 million from 49.79 million.
In a commentary, Chinabank economists said job creation in the country remained uneven amid economic headwinds.
“September’s labour market data point to a contrasting picture: More Filipinos are entering or rejoining the labour force to supplement household incomes amid rising living costs.
“However, employment opportunities remain insufficient to absorb new entrants, even as underemployment and average working hours show signs of improvement,” Chinabank said.
“Across industries, construction and wholesale and retail trade remained weighed down by weaker economic activity and subdued consumption, while transportation and accommodation and food services supported employment,” it added.
Year-on-year, the construction industry saw the largest drop in employment after losing 271,000 workers, which Chinabank economists attributed to weaker public and private construction activity.
Looking ahead, Chinabank said the holiday season could provide a boost to the country’s labour market in the coming months. — Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
