Manila, Philippines- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday, (June 06) that the number of unemployed Filipinos and has businesses in the Philippines increased in April, according to its labor force survey.
The survey included 44,890 sample households during the 20-day period from April 8 to April 30, 2024, and recorded a rise in unemployment.
From 2 million unemployed Filipinos in March, the number rose to 2.04 million jobless in April.
The PSA noted that this increase occurred in the agricultural sector, which was significantly affected by the El Niño Phenomenon in the country.
National Statistician and Civil Registrar Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa explained that El Niño might have caused this, as low production leads to workforce reductions.
“This could be because of the impact of El Niño… as production was lower, you have that decrease also in employed [persons],” Usec. Mapa said.
Based on the agency’s data, the agriculture and forestry sector experienced the largest employment decrease year-on-year.
In this sector, 818 thousand Filipinos lost their jobs.
The next sector, wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, saw 587 thousand people lose their jobs.
Meanwhile, the employment rate in the Philippines dropped from 96.1% to 96%.
The number of underemployed people, or those looking for more hours of work or jobs, increased to 7.04 million in March from 5.39 million, meaning that the underemployment rate decreased from 11% to 14.6% on a monthly basis.
The underemployment rate increased year as well, rising from 12.9% in April 2023.
In spite of this, a rise in full-time employment (6.1 million) and middle-skilled occupations (1.3 million) was reported by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), “indicating improved job quality.”