PSA: Unemployed Filipinos up to 3.5M in October

The number of unemployed persons grew to 3.5 million in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.

The figure is higher compared to the 3.07 million recorded in July 2021 but lower than the 3.81 million reported in October 2020, the PSA said.

"Sa populasyon ng 15 taong gulang pataas, ang bilang ng nasa labor force o mga indibidwal na employed o unemployed ay naitala sa 47.33 million nitong Oktubre 2021," National Statistician Dennis Claire Mapa said at a virtual briefing.

(For the 15 year old and above population, the number of those in labor force or individuals who are either employed or unemployed is at 47.33 million this October 2021.)

The latest figures are equivalent to an unemployment rate of 7.4%, lower than the 8.9% recorded in September and the 8.7% in October 2020.

Bureau of Local Employment Director Dominique Tutay said the unemployment rate prior to the pandemic was 5.1% representing 2.4 million Filipinos.

Tutay said she hopes that the government will fully reopen the economy by January next year to ensure “continued recovery.”

“Alam naman ho natin na kahit nagbukas na ang ating ekonomiya, may mga restrictions pa rin tayo like ‘yung mga hindi bakunado, may limitations sila sa pagpasok sa kanila kagawaan,” she added. 

(We know that even if the economy has reopened, there are still restrictions, like for those who are unvaccinated, they can’t go to offices.) 

Six regions reported unemployment rates higher than the national average — Calabarzon with 10.3%, Mimaropa with 10.0%, the National Capital Region with 9.2%, Region V with 9.0%, Region I with 8.4%, and Region VIII with 7.6%.

The top major industries which reported the highest declines in employment for the month were construction; transportation and storage; wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor and motorcycles; other service activities; and arts, entertainment, and recreation.

The proportion of underemployed Filipinos or those who expressed desire to have additional work hours or an additional job stood at 16.1%, lower than the 20.9% in July, but higher than the 14.4% in October 2020.

Employed Filipinos for the month stood at 43.83 million, up from 39.84 million the same month last year, bringing the employment rate up to 92.6% from 91.1% in September and 91.3% in October 2020.

The services sector accounted for the largest share of employed Filipinos with an estimated 57.6%, followed by the agriculture sector with 24.6%, and the industry sector with 17.8%.

The average weekly hours worked of employed Filipinos fell to 39.7 hours per week in October from 40.8 hours per week a year ago, and the 41.8 hours per week in July.

A total of 43,181 households participated in the October 2021 Labor Force Survey, while 121,990 participated in the July 2021 survey and 43,503 in the October 2020 survey.

Youth labor force

The youth labor force participation rate stood at 35.7%, higher than the 33.9% last year and the 33.3% in the previous quarter.

The unemployment rate among youth was 15.1%, while the youth employment rate was 84.9%, and the underemployment rate was 12.5%.

The economic managers said the vaccination drive will continue to boost the economy and sustain the country’s recovery moving forward.

“The accelerated vaccination drive will go hand in hand with the government’s efforts in strengthening the country’s healthcare capacity to avert critical cases and deaths and sustain the safe reopening of the economy amid possible spikes from new variants,” they said in a separate statement.

“Even with the threat posed by new variants, we are confident that our healthcare system and vaccine stockpile will suffice to contain another surge in infections,” they added.

The statement was signed by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, and Budget and Management Officer-in-Charge Tina Rose Marie Canda.

“The country’s economic performance has exceeded expectations in 2021. The road ahead remains challenging, but we assure the Filipino people that we have all the elements in place to recover quickly and strongly from the pandemic and grow rapidly in the years to come,” the statement read. 

Job opportunities 

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), meanwhile, is encouraging the public to avail of job opportunities both here and abroad. 

“Meron po tayong overseas vacancies na naitala around 7,000 din ito gaya ng mga (We have recorded around 7,000 overseas vacancies for) cooks, waiters, nurses, even construction-related (like) plumbers,” Tutay said, noting these jobs can be found in countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan.

She said that all unemployed individuals are welcome to participate in the job fair, which kicked off in Metro Manila on Monday.

This job fair will also be conducted both online and in-person in the Bicol Region, Central Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula until December 13. 

Further, DOLE is also continuing its initiative under the National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS), which seeks to generate about one million jobs until next year.

“In the coming transition period, pwedeng madagdagan ‘yung target natin na one million para makapag-offer tayo ng dagdag trabaho sa ating kababayan,” Tutay said.

(In the coming transition period, we may increase our one million target so we could offer more jobs to our countrymen.)

“Hindi lamang po trabaho, meron din pong mga livelihood opportunities na pupuwede sa ating kababayan kung gusto naman nila mag-negosyo,” she added.

(These are not only jobs but also livelihood opportunities for those who want to start a business.) 

Public health standards

The DOLE also called on the public to continue adhering to public health standards with the prevailing threat of COVID-19.

“Despite our collective success in improving the labor market, the Labor Department is not keeping its guards down, especially with the threat of another variant of COVID-19,” it said in a separate statement.

“We continue to remind everyone to vaccinate and continue the strict implementation of the minimum public health standards and occupational safety and health policies,” it added.

Malacañang last month announced the temporary suspension of the implementation of a resolution allowing the entry of fully vaccinated foreigners with visa-free privileges due to concerns involving the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the Omicron as a variant of concern, and many countries are racing to try and contain it. The origin of the variant is currently unclear, but South African scientists were the first to announce the discovery on November 25.

The Philippines has so far placed several countries under the Red List until December 15, in efforts to prevent the spread of the variant.

“We remain steadfast in working with the [National Employment Recovery Strategy] Task Force and will continue to be active and supportive of initiatives towards sustained improvement in our labor market towards our recovery,” the DOLE said. —KBK/RSJ/VBL, GMA News