Employment, underemployment rates up in January

March 7, 2018

Employment and underemployment rates in the Philippines rose during January, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.

The employment rate was estimated at 94.7 percent compared to year-ago figures of  93.4 percent which meant 41.8 million Filipinos had jobs. This rate is the highest in all of the previous January rounds of the labor force survey since 2009, the National Economic and Development Authority said.

The National Capitol Region posted the lowest employment rate of 92.2 percent followed by Ilocos and Calabarzon with 93.3 percent.

The unemployment rate in January 2018 was estimated at 5.3 percent from 6.6 percent during the same period in 2017, the PSA said. NEDA said the 5.3 percent is the lowest rate recorded for all January rounds of the labor force survey in the past decade

Unemployment was highest in  NCR 7.8 percent followed by Ilocos and Calabarzon 6.7 percent.

The underemployment rate went up to 18 percent from 16.3 percent in January 2017. The PSA said employed persons who want to have longer hours work in their present job, or to have additional job, or a new job with longer working hours are considered underemployed

Underemployed persons account for 57.1 percent of  total underemployed in January 2018 and 58.5 percent in January 2017. DMS