SWS: Unemployment hits record-high 34.4%; 13.8M jobless

At least 13.8 million Filipinos were jobless in the first quarter of 2012 as unemployment hit a "record-high" 34.4 percent in the first three months of the year, according to a new survey by pollster Social Weather Stations.

 

SWS said the survey conducted March 10 to 13 showed the 34.4-percent unemployment rate was 10 points more than the 24 percent or 9.7 million jobless Filipinos recorded in December 2011.

 

The SWS, which published the results of its latest survey Monday on its media partner BusinessWorld, also said the 34.4-percent rate was 10 points higher than the 24 percent–about 9.7 million Filipinos jobless–recorded in December 2011.

 

It also surpassed the previous record of 34.2 percent in February 2009, it added.

 

The SWS findings also compared with the government’s own Labor Force Survey (LFS) in January, which showed unemployment rate eased slightly to 7.2 percent from 7.4 percent in 2011, with the ranks of the jobless barely moving to 2.922 million from 2.917 million in the same period.

 

The survey was conducted among 1,200 Filipino adults nationwide.

 

Resigned, retrenched

 

In the BusinessWorld report, the SWS said its latest survey showed the unemployed, including those aged at least 18 years who did not have work and were looking for a job, included 13 percent retrenched, 15 percent resigned and 6 percent first-time job seekers.

 

Of the retrenched, 10 percent had previous contracts that were not renewed, 2 percent whose employers closed shop, and 1 percent who were laid off.

 

SWS noted that since November 2010, the number of unemployed has been dominated by those who voluntarily left their jobs and those who lost them under economic circumstances beyond their control.

 

Also, the survey found 33 percent of respondents said the number of available jobs in the next 12 months will not change, while 26 percent expected more jobs and 25 percent said there will be less job openings.

 

Compared to the previous quarter, the proportion of those whose contracts were not renewed rose to 10 percent from 7 percent, those who were laid off stayed at 1 percent, while those whose employers closed shop stayed at 2 percent.

 

The proportion of those who resigned increased to 15 percent from 9 percent in the same period, while that of first-time job seekers rose to 6 percent from 5 percent.

 

Unemployment was relatively high among women, though there was a bigger jump from the December survey among jobless men.

 

The unemployment rate among men increased by about 12 points to 27.6 percent in March from 15.2 percent in December 2011. Unemployment among women rose seven points to 43.0 percent from 35.6 percent.

 

Highest among younger segments

 

SWS said the unemployment rate was highest among the younger segments with 55.9 percent of respondents aged 18-24 from 49.1 percent in December, and 45.4 percent among those aged 24-34 from 29.9 percent.

 

The jobless rate among those aged at least 45 years grew to 30.8 percent from 17.3 percent in the same period, while those aged 35-44 saw this proportion rise to 21.7 percent from 18.7 percent. — RSJ/KG, GMA News