Philippine employment figures improve in April 2019

Ralf Rivas

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Philippine employment figures improve in April 2019

Gerard Carreon

More people got employed and had better job opportunities in April 2019, says the Philippine Statistics Authority

MANILA, Philippines – Unemployment and underemployment both eased in April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday, June 5. 

Unemployment, or the number of individuals with no jobs at all, was estimated at 5.1% in April 2019, lower than the 5.5% registered during the same month last year. The figure is equivalent to some 74,000 people getting jobs.

Of the total unemployed persons, 62.7% were men, while 37.3% were women. The age group of 15 to 24 years old comprised 43.8%, while the 25 to 34 age group made up 30.9%.

Among the regions, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (9%), National Capital Region (6.3%), Ilocos Region (5.9%), and Bicol (5.8%) had the highest unemployment rates.

Underemployment, or individuals who have jobs but are still seeking more to make ends meet, comprised 13.5% of the total workforce. This is lower than the 17% underemployment rate registered in April 2018.

The figure is equivalent to some 1.26 million fewer underemployed persons for the period.

Underemployed persons who work for less than 40 hours in a week accounted for 60% of the total underemployed in April 2019, higher than the 52.6% recorded in the same month last year.

The employment rate in April 2019 was estimated at 94.9%, higher than the 94.5% recorded a year ago.

Regions with the highest employment rates were the Cordillera Administrative Region (97.1%), Cagayan Valley (97%), Davao Region (96.9%), and Caraga (96%).

Workers in the services sector comprised the largest proportion of the employed population (58.5%), followed by agriculture (22.3%), and industry (19.7%).

The labor force participation rate, or the number of people available for work as a percentage of the total population, recovered at 61.4%, higher than the 60.9% recorded last year and 60.2% recorded in January 2019.

The labor force population consists of the employed and the unemployed 15 years old and above. – Rappler.com

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Ralf Rivas

A sociologist by heart, a journalist by profession. Ralf is Rappler's business reporter, covering macroeconomy, government finance, companies, and agriculture.