Joblessness rises as more feel global crisis' effects

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ unemployment figure rose in January, indicating that an increasing number of Filipinos have felt the pinch of the economic crisis, analysts said. The number of unemployed Filipinos jumped 2.855 million in January this year from 2.675 million during the same period last year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said on Tuesday. The country’s total labor force – or those 15 years old and above that were looking for jobs – was at 58.657 million, higher than last year's 57.39 million. "Among the regions, the highest unemployment rate was recorded in the National Capital Region (NCR) at 14 percent," the NSO said. Besides NCR, other areas that had highest number of jobless individuals were in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Central Luzon, Ilocos Region and Central Visayas. These areas had employment rates lower than the national employment rate of 92.3 percent. Employed Filipinos increased to 34.258 million from 33.693 million, during the period in review. Most unemployed individuals comprised of high school graduates (32.7 percent) and college undergraduates (22.2 percent) while those with bachelor degrees were at 18.3 percent. More males also were unemployed than females, 64.1 percent against 35.9 percent. By age group, young people were mostly unemployed. For every 10 unemployed persons, five or 49.2 percent were in the age group of 15 to 24 and three or 30.3 percent were in the age group of 25 to 34. Next: Fewer people seek more work in January, govt says Fewer people seek more work in January, govt says Meanwhile, the number of underemployed persons – or those seeking for more work – was slightly lower with 6.238 million from last year's 63.4 million. However, underemployed persons comprised 18.2 percent of the labor force against 18.9 percent last year. Most of employed Filipinos were in the service sector, comprising 51.2 percent, followed by agriculture's 34.6 percent and 14.2 percent were in the industry sector. "Among the various occupation groups, laborers and unskilled workers registered the largest group at 31.9 percent of the total employed persons in January 2009. Farmers, forestry workers and fishermen were the second largest group, accounting for 17.3 percent of the total employed," the NSO added. Although new jobs were created – thanks to the government’s pump-priming efforts – and more Filipinos were deployed abroad, the number of those seeking for work pushed up the number of jobless Filipinos. "There was growth, and it contradicted the data on exports," said Victor Abola, economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific. Philippine exports for the second consecutive month in January posted a contraction of above 40 percent, forcing layoffs in the electronics sector in the recent months owing to softening demand. "The growth was probably the cumulative effect of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) and I guess government’s on pump-priming," Abola added. However, he noted, that more and more Filipinos were looking for jobs, an indication of "hard times". - GMANews.TV