Unemployment in the Philippines has declined to 6.4 percent in January compared to the 7.4 percent in October last year.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said the figure translates to 2.93 million jobless Filipinos compared to the 3.5 million in the last quarter of 2021.
January’s monthly unemployment rate was also lower than December’s 6.6 percent or 3.27 million jobless count.
Underemployment also declined to 14.9 percent in January, equivalent to 6.4 million, compared to the 16.1 percent or 7.04 million in October 2021, data showed.
The total employed population for the month was at 43.02 million or 93 percent, higher than the 92.6 percent recorded in October 2021, the PSA said.
National statistician Dennis Mapa told an online media briefing on Friday, March 18, that the number of persons 15 years old and over reported as either employed or unemployed was estimated at 45.94 million in January 2022.
“This was higher compared to the 45.21 million Filipinos in the labor force in the same period last year,” he said, adding that in terms of magnitude, “the number of employed persons increased by 1.77 million from 41.25 million in January 2021 to 43.02 million in January 2022.”
