Over 2M Filipinos jobless in October

SOME 2.18 million Filipinos, or 5 percent of the labor force, were unemployed in October 2017, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday, December 12.

In a statement, the PSA said there were more unemployed this year than in October 2016, when government reported an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent, or 2.04 million of the labor force.

Based on the agency's Labor Force Survey in October 2017, Ilocos Region posted the highest unemployment rate at 8.2 percent, followed by the National Capital Region with 6.1 percent and Central Luzon with 6 percent.

Six out of 10, or 64.2 percent, were male.

PSA said the labor force participation rate (LFPR) in October 2017 was estimated at 62.1 percent given the population 15 years old and over of 70.4 million. The LFPR in October 2016 was 63.6 percent. The labor force population consists of the employed and the unemployed 15 years old and over.

There were fewer underemployed, or employed persons who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job.

PSA said underemployment went down to 15.9 percent, or 6.617 million, of the total employed in October 2017 compared to 18 percent, or 7.5 million, in October 2016.

In a separate statement, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said this indicates an "improvement in the quality of employment in the country."

“Regular conduct of job fairs and provision of livelihood assistance have contributed to the improvement of underemployment especially in areas outside of the National Capital Region. This is a good indicator that our efforts in the lagging regions are starting to take effect,” Pernia stated.

The LFS is a nationwide quarterly survey of households to gather data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population and provide statistics on levels and trends of employment, unemployment, and underemployment in the country. (With a report from SDR/SunStar Philippines)

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