OVER a million Filipinos became underemployed in September, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), even as government economists touted the decline in the number of the jobless compared to August.
The PSA data showed the number of jobless Filipinos reached 2.5 million in September 2022, a 1.78-million decline from the 4.28 million posted in September 2021.
There was also a decline of 183,000 in the number of unemployed workers compared to August, when 2.68 million Filipinos were out of work.
The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the country’s unemployment rate significantly declined to 5 percent in September 2022 from 8.9 percent in the same period last year.
This rate, Neda said, remained largely on a par with major Asian economies and is lower compared to that of India, Indonesia, and China.
“The recent survey results show the gains of the full reopening of our economy. The government will leverage on this momentum by strengthening policy interventions and investing in innovation and technology systems geared toward generating higher-quality employment that provides adequate income for Filipino workers and their families,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a statement.
“With the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 nearing its completion, we aim to strategize for a more efficient labor market by improving the quality of education, providing opportunities for life-long learning, skills development and options to obtain micro-credentials, enhancing job facilitation programs, and strengthening linkages among industry, business, and training institutions,” Balisacan said.
Visibly underemployed
Overall, there were a total of 7.326 million underemployed Filipinos, the majority of whom were visibly underemployed. There were 4.677 million visibly underemployed Filipinos and 2.649 million invisibly underemployed.
Data showed 1.144 million Filipinos joined the ranks of the underemployed from the 6.183 million posted in September 2021. Of this number, those who were visibly underemployed increased 262,000 while 882,000 joined the ranks of the invisibly underemployed.
“With the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 nearing its completion, we aim to strategize for a more efficient labor market by improving the quality of education, providing opportunities for life-long learning, skills development and options to obtain micro-credentials, enhancing job facilitation programs, and strengthening linkages among industry, business, and training institutions,” Balisacan said in a statement.
Underemployed persons are people who expressed a desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work.
Visible underemployment is experienced by underemployed persons working less than 40 hours in a week. Invisible underemployment is experienced by underemployed persons who are working at least 40 hours in a week.
The PSA data also includes a number of underemployed persons but with unreported hours worked under invisibly underemployed.
“Ensuring food security remains our top priority. In the immediate term, the government is providing targeted cash transfer as well as fuel and crop subsidies to help protect the purchasing power of Filipinos and reduce the incidence of invisible underemployment among low-income households,” Balisacan said.
Filipinos in the labor force increased by 2.21 million to 50.08 million in September 2022 from 47.87 million in September 2021.
However, compared to August 2022, almost half a million or 470,000 Filipinos dropped out of the labor from the 50.55 million in the previous month.
Female dropouts
In a virtual press conference on Tuesday, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said the majority or over 300,000 of those who dropped out of the labor force were female.
According to Mapa, going back to school and staying at home to do household duties were cited as the main reason for dropping out of the labor force.
Nonetheless, Neda said that with the vibrant resumption of economic activities, an additional 2.2 million Filipinos joined the workforce, raising the country’s labor force participation rate to 65.2 percent in September 2022 from 63.3 percent year-on-year.
This accelerated the employment rate to 95 percent in September 2022, the highest recorded rate since January 2020.
The significant de-escalation of community quarantine restrictions translates to an employment creation of 4 million year-on-year, bringing the total employment to 47.6 million in September 2022.
In addition, Balisacan highlighted the need for effective implementation of emergency employment programs and other forms of assistance to immediately assist those who were hard-hit by the calamities.
Neda also highlighted the crucial role of the timely passage of the FY 2023 budget and expediting the FY 2022 budget implementation in accelerating recovery and mitigating impact of external risks, particularly the job-generating infrastructure projects.