The number of jobless and out-of-business Filipinos went down in October, a result of more people stopping job search due to COVID-19 and ongoing digital shift.
According to the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA), the jobless rate, which is the proportion of unemployed people to the labor force, declined to 8.7% in October from 10% in July and a record-high of 17.7% in April.
The latest data reveals that 3.8 million Filipinos are jobless or out of daily subsistence in October, dropped off from 4.6 million last July and 7.2 million last April when coronavirus lockdowns and shutdowns were strictly implemented.
The labor force participation rate showed that only 58.7% of Filipinos were actively looking for jobs in October, the second lowest since 2005, due to the lack of job opportunities and not being called back to work although some businesses have reopened.
“We notice that there is a significant decrease in labor force whenever there is school opening, but the reduction here is quite large to account for such. We will have to look at it closely,” National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa told reporters in an online briefing.
Furthermore, the PSA and the labor force will look closely at the main reason for dropping off of employment and the discouragement of Filipinos to look for jobs.
Words by Kyrs Mejares Layout by Kiziah Magbanua
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