Jobless rate climbs to 4.8% in July from June, hits five-month high

MANILA, Philippines — Unemployment climbed to a five-month high of 4.8% in July while employed Filipinos have been working longer hours, the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.

This is equivalent to a total of 2.27 million jobless Filipinos, PSA chief Dennis Mapa said.

The joblessness rate in July was higher compared to the 4.5% recorded in June and is the highest unemployment rate since March (4.7%).

Mapa noted, however, that the country's unemployment rate is an improvement compared to the 5.2% recorded in the same month last year — when the economy had yet to fully reopen.

According to the PSA, the number of underemployed Filipinos or employees looking for additional income has increased to 15.9% in July — up from the 13.98% recorded in the same month last year. This translates to around 7.10 million underemployed Filipinos.

Meanwhile, more employed Filipinos have been working longer hours, PSA noted. 

“On average, employed persons worked 42.3 hours per week, which was higher than the average hours worked in a week in July 2022 at 40.5 hours and in April 2023 at 36.9 hours,” the statistics authority said.

During the PSA briefing, Mapa noted that some 1.25 million Filipinos are currently going through “invisible underemployment” or are looking for another job on top of their 40-hour work week.

From July 2022 to July 2023, the industries that created the most job opportunities were transportation and storage (337,000); administrative and support service activities (243,000); professional, scientific, and technical activities (162,000); information and communication (117,000); and manufacturing (75,000).

Meanwhile, industries where jobs have dwindled are wholesale and retail trade (1.97 million); agriculture and forestry (1.58 million); and public administration and defense and compulsory social security (271,000).

— Cristina Chi