Unemployment rose to 5.1% in October from 5% in the same month last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority’s latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) showed, equivalent to 2.202mn individuals who were out of work from 2.185mn previously.
The employment rate, at 94.9% from 95% previously, meant that 41.329mn Filipinos had jobs, down from 41.547mn in October 2017.
The underemployment rate — the proportion of the employed wanting additional work — dropped to 13.3%, lower than the 15.9% a year ago. The latest reading represented about 5.502mn underemployed workers, lower than the 6.616mn a year ago.
Without giving an explanation on the higher unemployment rate in October, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said it remained at the upper end of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2018 target range of 4.7 to 5.3%. In a statement, it explained that the government was on track with respect to four out of seven employment targets specified in the PDP 2017-2022.
“To meet our targets, we need to fast-track strategic efforts to achieve all of our end-of-plan targets toward full and inclusive employment,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.
He highlighted the need to improve social protection programmes for workers while providing flexibility for firms to adjust to changing market conditions.
“This should be complemented with the provision of unemployment insurance to support the income of displaced workers who will be negatively affected by economic disruptions,” the NEDA chief said.
The NEDA said the LFS recorded around 826,000 employment generated in 2018, falling behind the government’s annual target of 900,000 to 1.1mn employment.
On meeting this target, Pernia urged the simplification of issuing business permits and licenses, and even reduction of fees. In terms of gender, only 46.6% of women were recorded to be in the labour force for 2018, which was below the 49.7% target set for the period, the NEDA said.
Labour force participation rate dropped to 60.6%, mainly because of more young Filipinos opting for full-time studies, and females opting out of work for household duties, it noted.
“We need to encourage more women to join the workforce, considering that our country has a high proportion of well-educated women,” Pernia said, pointing out that the recently passed Telecommuting Act would help ensure that both men and women could better share responsibilities at home, while still being productively engaged at work.
Faster implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law will also help women pursue continuing education and careers in the marketplace, he added.
The NEDA reported that youth unemployment remained high at 13.3% compared to the PDP 2018 target of 10.4%. Pernia said more programmes that address youth unemployment, a recurring concern, were needed like restructuring academic curricula designed for 21st-century skills, as well as strengthening linkages between schools and the private sector.
The NEDA said the country’s underemployment rate fell to its lowest in over a decade, indicating the improvement of the quality of work nationwide.“This signals that the quality of work is improving even outside the National Capital Region (NCR or Metro Manila). We attribute this to expanding employment opportunities and the approval of nominal increases in regional wages supported by labour productivity improvements,” Pernia said.
The NEDA said underemployment rate in areas outside NCR significantly declined 14.6% in October 2018 from 17.0% in 2017, also the lowest in over a decade.
It added that the percentage of discouraged job seekers decreased to 11.5%, which is better than the 12.0% target for 2018.
Of the total youth population, the NEDA said 19.9% is neither in employment nor in education in 2018, but still falling within the PDP target of 19.5-21.5%.
