1 week Ago By Tatiana Maligro
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rapplerAds.displayAd( "mobile-middle-1" );MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ jobless rate fell in February as more Filipinos found jobs in accommodation and food services, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday, April 8.While unemployment slipped to 3.
8% in February from 4.3% in January, the jobless rate rose year-on-year from 3.5% in February 2024.
Around 1.94 million Filipinos did not have jobs in February.Meanwhile, underemployment dropped to 10.
1% from 13.3% in January and 12.4% in February 2024.
This is equivalent to around 4.96 million underemployed Filipinos.Underemployed Filipinos are those who want to work more hours in their current job, a second job to augment their income, or another job that has longer work hours.
According to National Statistician Dennis Mapa, the accommodation and food services sector added the most jobs year-on-year at 377,000, while the fishing and aquaculture sector followed closely with 365,000 additional jobs.Image from Philippine Statistics AuthorityThree subsectors within accommodation and services added the most jobs:Restaurants and mobile food service activities – 281,000Short-term accommodation activities – 75,000Event catering – 42,000“This is good year-on-year because this is tied to consumption. This could be an effect of the coming summer holidays,” Mapa said in Filipino.
He also cited better weather for the rise in fishing and aquaculture jobs, particularly municipal fishing.The PSA also recorded a significant increase in other service jobs, particularly in employment opportunities with political organizations, due to the midterm elections. The national campaign period for senatorial and party-list groups began on February 11.
“May isa tayong category kanina, ‘yung Other Service Activities na doon talaga nagkaroon tayo ng pagdagdag doon sa activities of political organizations. So, ito siguro ‘yung mga sumasama, naging employado doon sa mga political organizations natin at may dagdag sila na 41,000,” Mapa explained.window.
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displayAd( "mobile-middle-2" );(We have one category, Other Service Activities, where we really saw increased activity among political organizations. So, these additional 41,000 workers may be those joining or are employed by political organizations.)Meanwhile, the agriculture and forestry sector lost the most jobs year-on-year.
Mapa attributed this to the loss of jobs in the growing of palay, coconut, and young corn.Image from Philippine Statistics AuthorityJob quality improvingLabor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said in a statement that the latest drop in underemployment figures show an improvement in the labor market’s job quality. He also lauded job growth in the agriculture and service sectors.
“This balanced growth across key economic pillars strengthens the resilience and diversity of our employment and livelihood landscape,” he said.Apart from continuing current livelihood programs, Laguesma also vowed to boost capacity-building initiatives amid digital transformation in the labor market to hone Filipinos’ cybersecurity and related digital skills.National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan also pledged to build on the current momentum of the job market by securing strategic employment-generating investments.
“The continued rollout and implementation of high-impact infrastructure flagship projects, particularly in energy, transport, and digital connectivity, will boost domestic employment and business activity,” he said. – Rappler.com.
