Jobless Pinoys increase to 2.04mln; employment drops by 96%

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The number of jobless Filipinos has once again surged in April 2024, registering a 4.0% unemployment rate, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday.

During a press conference, national statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa announced a 2.04 million uptick in unemployed individuals aged 15 and above in April 2024, slightly higher than the two million reported in March 2024.

The following industries had the largest drop in employment from April 2023 to April 2024, according to the PSA:

Accommodation and food service activities (638 thousand)

Construction (378 thousand)

Transportation and storage (289 thousand)

Manufacturing (285 thousand)

Other service activities (200 thousand)

Region 5 (Bicol Region) recorded the highest unemployment rate at 5.4%, whereas Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) had the lowest at 2.3%

The underemployment rate for April 2024 increased to 14.6%, compared to 11% in March 2024 and 12.9% in April 2023.

Of the 48.36 million employed individuals, 7.04 million expressed a desire for additional jobs or work hours, up from 5.39 million in the previous month.

Employment rate

In April 2024, the Philippines also posted a 96% employment rate or 48.36 million Filipinos who have jobs.

This marked a decline from 49.15 million employed individuals in March 2024 but a slight increase from 48.06 million in April 2023.

According to Mapa, the following sectors had the largest increase in employment on a quarter-to-quarter basis:

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (1.09 million)

Accommodation and food service activities (626 thousand)

Manufacturing (218 thousand)

Other service activities (169 thousand)

Construction (163 thousand)

Wage and salary workers maintain their position as the dominant group among employed individuals, representing 63.6% of the total workforce in April 2024.

This is followed by self-employed individuals without any hired employees at 27.9%, while unpaid family workers constituted 6.5%.

Employers in their family-operated farm or business represented the smallest share at 2.1%.

Meanwhile, the services sector dominates the labor market with a 61.4% share in the employed numbers. This is followed by the agriculture sector with 20.3% and industry sector with 18.3%.

The labor force participation rate for individuals aged 15 and above stood at 64.1% or 50.40 million Filipinos, slightly lower than 50.15 million in March 2024 but higher than 50.31 million in April 2023.

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao reported the highest labor force participation rate at 71.2%, while the Zamboanga Peninsula had the lowest at 59.6%.