October jobless rate slightly eases to 4.2%

MANILA, Philippines — The number of jobless Filipinos has dipped in October 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday.

In a press conference, National Statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa reported that the number of unemployed persons ages 15 and above declined to 2.09 million in October this year, down from 2.26 million in the previous month.

It has surveyed 44,499 households or 128,182 individuals.

"Ang unemployed persons o bilang ng mga nasa labor force na walang trabaho o negosyo nitong Oktubre 2023 ay nasa 2.09 million," Mapa said.

(The unemployed persons or number of those in the labor force without work or business in October 2023 is at 2.09 million)

This number is also lower than the 2.24 million unemployed Filipinos in the same period in October last year, according to the PSA. It is also lower than July 2023’s record of 2.27 million.

The figures translate to an unemployment rate of 4.2%, which decreased from 4.5% in September 2023.

The country's underemployment rate also dropped to 11.7% in October this year.

The rate is lower than July 2023's 15.9% and 14.2% in October last year.

According to PSA, there were 5.60 million underemployed individuals or those who expressed desire to have an additional job or hours of work in October this year, an increase from the 5.11 million in the previous month.

The number of underemployed individuals decreased from the 7.10 million in July 2023, and also lower than 6.67 million in October last year.

Employment rate

Meanwhile, the Philippines also posted a 95.8% employment rate equivalent to 47.08 million Filipinos who have jobs, a slight dip from September 2023’s 47.67 million employed Filipinos.

The October 2023 figures are, however, slightly higher than the 95.5% or 47.06 million employed Filipinos in October 2022 and an increase from July 2023's 44.63 million employed individuals.

The country's labor force participation rate, on the other hand, decreased to 63.9% or 49.89 million individuals in October 2023 from the previous month’s 64.1% rate.

It is an increase from the July 2023 participation rate of 60.1% or 46.90 million individuals and 64.1% or 49.30 million in the same month last year.

Mapa attributed the increase of employment and the labor force participation to "ber months" when most establishments and stores add employees.

"Normally pag ber months na yan nakikita natin yung dami ng economic activities,...dito nakikita natin yung source ng increase sa employment," he said.

(Normally, during the 'ber' months, we see a lot of economic activities... This is where we see the source of the increase in employment.)

National Economic and Development Authority chief Arsenio Balisacan said that the labor market is expected to further improve the employment rate.

"We can make the labor market more inclusive with the entry of more investments, especially those that bring in new and better technology. At the same time, we need to expand and enhance learning opportunities to ensure that we equip Filipinos for future jobs," Balisacan said in a statement

The PSA’s survey on the labor force was conducted from October 9 to 31.PSA's released the preliminary data days after inflation cooled down at 4.1% due to the slower increase of food prices.