Philippine Jobless Rate Reach 3 Million at 7.3% According to Labor Force Survey

The unemployment rate of the Philippines rose to 7.3% in July, from the 7% during last year’s survey based upon the Labor Force Survey. The 7.3% results means that there are 3.002 million Filipinos were jobless in July, higher than the 2.84 million jobless during the same month last year.

NEDA

The current jobless rate at 7.3% was slightly lower compared to the April 2013 results at 7.5%. According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan the higher unemployment rate is attributed to the higher jobless rate to a larger labor force, as well as “inefficient” industries shedding jobs.

The country’s labor force grew nearly 2% to 41.17 million in July, from the 40.4 million a year ago. Of the total, the number of employed Filipinos stood at 38.2 million in July, a 1.7% increase from a year ago.

During the July 2013 survey, a total of 620,000 jobs created but there were also job losses during that particular period.

Sec. Arsenio Balisacan was quoted as saying:

“Despite the employment generated, the employment rate slightly decreased to 92.7 percent from 93.0 percent, because of job losses in the accommodation and food service activities subsector, which registered a net employment loss of 238,000. There were also declines in employment in manufacturing (-28,000), mining and quarrying (-14,000) and water supply; sewerage; waste management and remediation activities (-6,000). Moreover, the labor force grew faster at 1.9 percent during the period,” he said.

According to the Labor Force Survey, the unemployed are mostly young people who “lack competency and experience” and without college degrees. High school graduates comprise 32.8% of the unemployed, followed by college graduates with 21.8%, and college undergraduates at 13.6%.

For more information regarding the Labor Force Survey just visit the official website of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

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