AN estimated 7.2 million Filipino adults were found to be jobless in the last quarter, translating to an unemployment rate of 15.7 percent in December 2017, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) found in its latest survey.
The rate is 3.2 percentage points lower than the 18.9-percent unemployment rate, equivalent to roughly 8.7 million adults, in September 2017.
Optimism was high, however, that jobs await the unemployed.
The SWS, which conducted the survey on December 8 to 16, said optimism about the availability of more jobs increased by eight percentage points to 53 percent in December from 45 percent in September 2017.
Only 12 percent were pessimistic about job availability while 24 percent believed there will be no change in job availability.
Optimism on job availability yielded a net score of "excellent" +41 in December 2017, 13 percentage points higher than September 2017's "high" +28.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said the Duterte administration was elated by the poll results.
"The Duterte administration is indeed on the right track in making sustainable and inclusive growth as part of our development plan. (The) Department of Budget and Management data showed infrastructure disbursements jumping 44.8 percent year-on-year to P43.8 billion last November," Roque said in a statement.
"We expect to generate more jobs with the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, which would increase infrastructure investments. Our Build-Build-Build Infrastructure Program is projected to create more than a million jobs a year," he added.
SWS defines jobless adults as either those who voluntarily left their previous jobs; lost their jobs because of retrenchment; and those who are seeking jobs for the first time.
Of the 7.2 million jobless Filipinos, 8.3 percent resigned or left their jobs voluntarily, down by 2.1 percentage points from September 2017's 10.4 percent.
Those who were retrenched fell by 0.7 percentage point to 5.9 percent in December 2017 from 6.6 percent in September the same year. They included those whose contracts were not renewed (4 percent), those who were laid off (0.8 percent), and those whose employers shut down operations (1.1 percent).
First-time job seekers declined to 1.5 percent from 1.9 percent in September 2017.
More women than men lost their jobs during the period.
The jobless rate among men was recorded at 7.6 percent in the last quarter of 2017, down by 5.9 percentage points from 13.5 percent posted in the third quarter of 2017. Among women, unemployment went up by 0.2 points to 26.7 percent in December from 26.5 percent in September.
The survey further found a decline in joblessness in the 18 to 24 age group (45 percent from 50.2 percent), 35 to 44 age group (10.7 percent from 12.8 percent), and 45 and above age group (8.5 percent from 13.8 percent).
However, joblessness among those aged 25 to 34 rose by 2.6 percentage points to 23.9 percent in December 2017 from 21.3 percent in September 2017.
The SWS interviewed 1,200 adult Filipinos, using sampling error margins of ±3 percentage points for national percentages, and ±6 percentage points each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. (SunStar Philippines)