The unemployment rate in the country went down slightly to 4.7 percent in March from 4.8 percent in February.
The Philippine Statistics Authority on Monday, May 8, said there are 2.42 million Filipino workers who were jobless out of 51 million in the labor force. This is lower than the 2.47 million unemployed in February.
“In terms of magnitude, the number of employed persons in March 2023 was estimated at 48.58 million, posting an increase of 1.61 million from the 46.98 million employed persons in March 2022,” the agency said in a statement.
The underemployment rate also fell to 11.2 percent in March from 12.9 percent in February, and from 15.8 percent in March 2022.
The PSA defines underemployed workers as those having jobs but wish to add more work hours.
From 7.42 million workers who were underemployed in March last year, the number has gone down to 5.44 million in March this year, or a reduction of 1.98 million.
