The number of jobless Filipinos has decreased as employment surged in February, driven by higher labor demand linked to the start of the academic year and the beginning of the harvest season.
During a press conference, Claire Dennis Mapa, the head of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), announced that the number of unemployed individuals aged 15 and above fell to 1.80 million in February from 2.15 million in January.
This marks the lowest level of unemployment since December 2023, when there were 1.60 million unemployed individuals.
On a year-to-year basis, unemployment in February also saw a significant reduction compared to the 2.47 million unemployed in the same month last year.
Out of the 50.75 million people in the workforce actively seeking employment, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in February from 4.5% the previous month.
Meanwhile, the number of employed persons rose from 45.94 million to 48.95 million within the same period.
This increase translates to a 96.5% employment rate, up from 95.5% in January.
Mapa noted that the PSA recorded higher employment in wholesale and retail trade and agriculture and forestry, with increases of 1.61 million and 1.03 million, respectively.
Other sectors that experienced employment growth include:
- Accommodation and food services, adding 325,000 jobs
- Construction, with an increase of 231,000 jobs
- Transportation and storage, up by 206,000 jobs
Among the employed, wage and salary workers formed the largest group at 62.9%. This was followed by the self-employed at 27.2% and unpaid family workers at 7.8%.
With the labor market showing positive changes, could this trend continue in the coming months?
Philippine Statistics Authority
via GMA News Online