KALIBO, Aklan – The unemployment rate in Western Visayas rose to 13.7 percent in the month of April, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in this province reported.
The record-high unemployment rate was due to the shutdown of the labor market during the implementation of enhanced community quarantine in the provinces to curb the spread of coronavirus disease 2019.
According to PSA-Aklan, the unemployment rate in this region in April 2019 was at 4.8 percent and at 5.6 this January.
Therefore, about 417,319 persons were jobless in April this year, higher by 271,301 compared to April 2019 data of 146, 018.
Meanwhile, Western Visayas’ labor force participation rate among individuals aged 15 years old and above was estimated at 56.1 percent – equivalent to 3 million individuals. It is lower compared to April 2019’s 56.7 percent.
On the other hand, the employment rate in this region in April 2020 dropped to 86.3 percent from 95.2 percent in April 2019. This is equal to 2.6 million employed persons in April 2020 from 2.9 million employed individuals in April 2019.
In January 2020, Western Visayas’ employment rate was pegged at 94.4 percent, or corresponding to about 332,027 persons.
This region’s underemployment, meanwhile, clocked in at 10.9 percent – up by 2.2 percent compared to 8.7 percent in April 2019.
These data were derived from the results of the Labor Force Survey conducted quarterly by PSA.(With a report from PSA-Aklan/PN)
