1.66 million Filipinos unemployed in November 2024 — PSA
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday, January 8, said there are 1.66 million Filipinos who were unemployed in November 2024.
This translates to an unemployment rate of 3.2% for the month, lower than the rate in October 2024.
“In terms of levels, the number of unemployed persons in November 2024 was recorded at 1.66 million. This was lower than the number of unemployed persons of 1.83 million in November 2023 and 1.97 million in October 2024,” the PSA said in its report published on January 8.
The PSA said the country’s employment rate reached 96.8% in November 2024, equating to approximately 49.54 million employed individuals.
While the November 2024 employment rate is an improvement from October 2024 (96.1% or 48.16 million), there are slightly fewer people working when compared to November 2023 (49.64 million).
Meanwhile, underemployment also decreased. Underemployment is defined by the PSA as people who expressed the need to work more hours or a second source of income.
For November 2024, underemployment fell to 10.8% from 12.6% in October 2024. This translates to 5.35 million people being underemployed.
The labor force participation rate (LFPR) in November 2024 increased from October 2024, going from 63.3% to 64.9%. The LFPR refers to the ratio of the country’s working-age population that is either employed or actively seeking employment
“The reported LFPR in November 2024 translates to a total of 51.20 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and over who were in the labor force, or those who were either employed or unemployed,” the PSA said.
This is a slight increase from the LFPR in October 2024, which was at 50.12 million.
The PSA said that employed persons worked an average of 41.1 hours per week in November 2024. This is slightly higher than the average work time in October 2024.
Meanwhile, wage and salary workers account for most of the country’s labor force. They made up 63.8% of the working population in November 2024, while self-employed individuals without paid employees accounted for 27.8%.
Unpaid family workers were recorded at 6.6% while employers in family businesses were 1.8% of the country’s workforce.
Most of the country’s working force are in the service sector, which is 62.1%. The agriculture (20.0%) and industry sectors (17.9%) followed.
The PSA listed the following five sub-sectors as having the highest increase in the number of employed persons.
- Manufacturing: 784,000 workers
- Accommodation and food service activities: 528,000 workers
- Human health and social work activities: 303,000 workers
- Other service activities: 239,000 workers
- Transportation and storage: 190,000 workers
Meanwhile, here are the sub-sectors with the highest decreases in the number of workers with their corresponding losses:
- Agriculture and forestry: -1.99 million
- Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles: -327,000
- Fishing and aquaculture: -276,000
- Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply: -35,000
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan welcomed the increase in employment rate, saying that it was important to continue expanding business and employment opportunities.
"The government needs to facilitate the adoption of alternative work arrangements to account for workers' evolving preferences while considering organizations' emerging demands. In addition, the government focuses on accelerating government programs that will increase employability, especially among the youth," Balisacan said.
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