Jobless Filipinos hit 2.27M in July

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 8) — The number of Filipinos without work in July reached 2.27 million, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed Friday.

The latest figure was down from June's 2.33 million.

This translates to a national unemployment rate of 4.8%.

However, during a briefing, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the labor force participation rate dropped to 60.1% from 65.2% a year ago, translating to 46.9 million Filipinos who were either employed or looking for jobs — a plunge by 3 million from a year prior.

The employment situation improved by a notch to 95.2% compared to the 94.8% in July 2022.

Underemployed persons, or those who have jobs but desire to have additional working hours or income stream, reached 7.10 million for the month.

Mapa attributed the drop in labor force participation to Filipinos "shifting to household duties."

"Pwedeng nagaalaga ng pamilya, household chores (They could be tending to their family members, household chores)," he said.

The official likewise said that the recent typhoons could have a link to the labor force participation, especially in the agriculture sector which saw a decline of 1.58 million year-on-year.

Aside from agriculture and forestry, the major industries that recorded the biggest drop in employed persons were the following:

- Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

- Public administration and defense; compulsory social security

- Arts, entertainment and recreation

- Real estate activities

The sectors with the largest gain in employment, meanwhile, were the following:

- Transportation and storage

- Administrative and support service activities

- Professional, scientific and technical activities

- Information and communication

- Manufacturing