THE number of jobless Filipinos rose in the first month of 2024 while the number of those with jobs and livelihoods decreased amid the easing of seasonal demand for labor following the 2023 holidays, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday, March 8.
PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa, at a press briefing, said the number of unemployed individuals, ages 15 and above, widened to 2.15 million in January 2024 from 1.60 million in December 2023.
Year-on-year, the number of jobless people during the month was lower by 228,000 compared to the 2.38 million unemployed persons in January 2023.
As a percentage of the total 48.09 million people in the labor force who are actively seeking for work, the unemployment rate stood at 4.5%, higher than the 3.6% unemployment rate in December last year.
“Ang unemployment rate ay naitala sa 4.5%, o apatnapu’t lima sa bawat isang libo na indibidwal na nasa labor force ang walang trabaho o negosyo nitong Enero 2024,” Mapa said.
Relatedly, the number of employed persons decreased to 45.94 million from 50.52 million in December 2023.
Year-on-year, employed individuals in January 2024 were lower by 1.41 million compared to the 47.35 million in January 2023.
This translates to an employment rate of 95.5%, lower than the 96.9% rate seen in January but higher than the 95.2% rate in January 2023.
The increase in joblessness and decline in employed persons was attributed to the easing of labor demand following the “peak of seasonality” in December last year, Mapa said.
“We are seeing workers who were hired or joined the labor market because of economic activities during the fourth quarter… some of them were out, but, of course a portion was retained,” he said.
“December is the peak of seasonality,” Mapa said, noting that labor demand was usually high during the holiday season.
In response to the lackluster labor statistics, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the Marcos administration remains committed to creating a favorable business environment to attract both local and foreign investments in the country, aiming to generate more high-quality employment opportunities.
The top five sub-sectors that posted the highest annual decreases in the number of employed persons are as follows:
* Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (-1.51 million)
* Agriculture and forestry (-854,000)
* Public administration and defense; compulsory social security (-226,000)
* Manufacturing (-151,000)
* Information and communication (-49,000)
Wage and salary workers continued to account for the largest share of employed persons with 67.1% of the total employed persons in January.
This was followed by self-employed persons without any paid employee at 25.7% and unpaid family workers at 4.7%. (GMA Integrated News)
