PH unemployment at 3-year high

MANILA, Philippines — The country's labor market worsened in July following the series of typhoons that struck the country, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.

The country’s unemployment rate was recorded at 5.3 percent, up from 4.1 percent and 3.7 percent a month and year earlier. This is the highest recorded jobless rate since June 2022 at 6.0 percent.

This translates to 2.59 million unemployed Filipinos, higher than the 1.95 million and 2.38 million recorded in June and July 2024.

Meanwhile, underemployment — which counts those looking for more work or an extra job — rose to 14.8 percent, up from 11.4 percent in June. It is also higher than the 12.1 percent recorded a year ago.

The number of underemployed individuals stood at 6.80 million. These are workers who expressed a desire for additional hours in their current job, an additional job, or a new job with longer hours.

Employment rate, meanwhile, dropped to 94.7 percent, lower than the 96.3 percent and 95.3 percent recorded a month and year earlier. The number of individuals with jobs reached 46.05 million.

The country’s Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in April was registered at 60.7, markedly lower than the 65.7 percent in June and 63.5 percent in July 2024.