Unemployment rate up in December

THE number of unemployed Filipinos slightly went up in December, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

In a virtual briefing on Thursday, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said that based on the preliminary results of the latest Labor Force Survey, the number of out-of-work individuals was estimated at 3.27 million from 3.16 million in November 2021.

This translates to an unemployment rate of 6.6 percent, slightly higher than the 6.5 percent the month before. "There was an increase in the labor force participation but not all of them were able to secure jobs," said Mapa. This contributed to higher unemployment figures.

He said the higher labor force participation could be attributed to looser mobility restrictions and the rise of seasonal job vacancies during the holiday season.

The labor force participation rate increased to 65.1 percent from 64.2 percent in November, accounting for 49.55 million Filipinos 15 years and over who were in the labor force.

The number of employed Filipinos, meanwhile, was estimated at 48.27 million from 45.48 million in November. This translates to an employment rate of 14.7 percent from 16.7 percent a month earlier.

By industry group, the services sector continued to be the main employment hub absorbing 26.21 million employed persons (56.6 percent), followed by agriculture and industry sectors with 11.83 million (25.6 percent) and 8.24 million (17.8 percent), respectively.

Underemployed persons or employed persons who expressed their desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional jobs, or to have a new job with longer hours of work was estimated at 6.81 million, which translates to an underemployment rate of 14.7 percent, down from the 16.7 percent in November.

In a statement, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the latest employment data "signals that the economy is on the right track to recovery." "By accelerating the vaccination program and safely reopening more sectors of the economy, we were able to generate more and better jobs for the people. We look forward to building on these gains in 2022 now that we have contained the spread of Omicron and have reverted back to Alert Level 2 in the National Capital Region and several provinces," he said.

Chua said the easing of travel requirements will also help create employment, especially in the tourism sector. At present, fully vaccinated Filipinos and international tourists from visa-free countries are only required to show a 48-hour negative RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test result prior to departure from their country of origin.

International arriving passengers that meet these requirements are no longer required to undergo facility-based quarantine.

Chua said the expansion of the vaccination program to the pediatric population — 5 to 11 years old — will also pave the way for the resumption of face-to-face classes and restore employment in the education sector.

Source: TheManila Times