Philippines’ jobless rate falls to 3.7 pct in September

MANILA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) — Unemployment rate in the Philippines fell to 3.7 percent in September from 4 percent in August, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.
PSA head Dennis Mapa said at a press conference that an estimated 1.89 million Filipinos were out of work in September this year, lower than 2.07 million jobless Filipinos in the previous month and 2.26 million recorded in September 2023.
Unemployment rate in September 2023 was 4.5 percent.
National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan attributed the decrease in unemployment rate to the government’s “sustained efforts to enhance all dimensions of the labor market.”
Despite the drop, Balisacan noted that underemployment rate increased to 11.9 percent in September from 10.7 percent in September last year.
The PSA defines underemployment as workers who have jobs but continue to look for extra jobs or job hours. A high underemployment rate indicates that jobs available are of low quality.
Balisacan emphasized that the government would continue implementing supply- and demand-side interventions to achieve the government’s quality employment targets. ■