THERE were 3.8 million adult Filipinos who were jobless as of October, representing an unemployment rate of 8.7 percent, the state statistics agency said on Thursday as the economy reopened further after sinking deeper into recession in the third quarter.
The National Capital Region (NCR) had the highest unemployment rate, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) had the lowest.
Octoberās 8.7 percent unemployment rate was nearly double the 4.6 percent in the same period last year but below the record 17.6 percent in April.
The average jobless rate for 2020, based on four surveys, was 10.4 percent, or 4.5 million people, the highest since 2005, the statistics agency said.
Industries that posted the largest drop in employment include entertainment and recreation, accommodation and food services, real estate activities, transportation and manufacturing.
The unemployment rate in Manila, which accounts for 40 percent of the countryās economic output, was at 12.4 percent owing to restrictions on movement through transportation curbs, national statistician Claire Dennis Mapa told a virtual news conference.
Underemployment rate meanwhile was at 14.4 percent. PSA defines underemployed persons as those who are employed but looking for additional work. (ABS-CBN News)
