The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday that there was an increase in the number of unemployed Filipinos in the first month of 2024. At a press conference, National Statistician and PSA Chief Claire Dennis Mapa disclosed that the number of jobless people aged 15 and over increased to 2.15 million in January 2024 from 1.6 million in December 2023.
With a rise of 228,000 unemployed people, this corresponds to a 4.5% unemployment rate. However, this number is still less than the 2.38 million Filipinos without jobs that were reported in the same time frame in 2022.
The PSA listed the industries where employment declined at the highest rate each year between October 2023 and January 2024:
– Retail and wholesale trade; auto and motorbike maintenance (-1.08 million)
– Forestry and agriculture (-908,000)
– Defense and public administration; mandatory social security (-107,000)
– Production (82,000)
– Activities related to lodging and food service (67,000)
Furthermore, the PSA documented a significant increase in the number of underemployed people, with 6.39 million recorded in January 2024 as opposed to 6.01 million in the same month the previous year. This number is less than the 6.65 million that was announced in January 2023, though.
The Philippines’ employment rate decreased to 95.5% in January 2024, from 50.52 million in December 2023 to 45.94 million in January 2024. Additionally, this is a minor decrease from the 47.35 million in January 2023.
The following industries saw the biggest gains in employment:
– 17,000 in construction
– 165,000 for storage and transit
– 160,000 in administrative and support service activities
– 157,000 for fishing and aquaculture
– Additional services rendered: 128,000
The employment landscape is still dominated by wage and salary workers, who make up 67.1% of all employed people. Self-employed people without hired staff come in second at 25.7%, followed by unpaid family workers at 4.7%. Employers in farms or companies run by families made up the smallest percentage (2.6%).
With 60.2% of all jobs, the services sector continues to dominate the labor market. It is followed by the agriculture sector (21.4%) and the industries sector (18.4%).
The percentage of the working age population that is both employed and unemployed and is 15 years of age or older is 64.5%, which translates to 48.09 million Filipinos. Compared to January 2023’s 49.73 million and December 2023’s 52.13 million, this number is somewhat less.
In Tuesday’s economic data, the PSA revealed that the nation’s inflation accelerated to 3.4% in February 2024, capping a four-month decline linked to a quicker rise in food prices.
