Joblessness rate up to 20.7% in June, SWS survey shows

The country's joblessness rate in June 2019 has gone up by one percentage point to 20.7%, according to survey findings the Social Weather Station made public on Friday .

The percentage of jobless adults means an estimated 9.8 million Filipinos were out of work in June.

The SWS recorded the joblessness rate in March at 19.7% or an estimated 9.4 million adults out of work.

SWS said the increase in the proportion of adults in the labor force who are jobless came after two consecutive quarters of decrease.

The proportion was at 22.0% in September 2018. It went down to 21.1% (an estimated nine million adults) in December, and then to 19.7% in March 2019.

SWS defined adult joblessness as those seeking jobs for the first time, those who voluntarily left their old jobs, and those who lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control, or those who were retrenched.

The 20.7% who were jobless in June 2019 were composed of 11% (estimated 5.2 million adults) who voluntarily left their jobs, 6.5% (estimated 3.1 million adults) retrenched, and 3.2% (estimated 1.5 million adults) first-time job seekers.

The 6.5% who were retrenched consisted of 4.5% (estimated 2.1 million adults) whose contracts ended and no longer renewed, 1.1% (estimated 522,000 adults) who got laid off, and 0.9% (estimated 438,000 adults) whose previous employer closed operations. —NB, GMA News