By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
In a report released on Wednesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority said that the unemployment rate went down by 3.7% in September 2024 from 4.5% in the same month last year and 4.0% in August last year.
Over 49.9 million Filipinos were added to the labor force in September, an uptick of 2.2 million from September 2023.
“We are sustaining our efforts to enhance all dimensions of our labor market. The government is urgently addressing the constraints to high-quality job creation and collaborating with the private sector to capacitate our workers with the right skills and competencies simultaneously,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said.
The Labor Force Participation Rate also saw an increase, going up to 65.7% from 64% in the same period last year, the equivalent of an additional 2.2 million employed workers.
“[The decline] is a notable outcome of the continuous adoption of crucial socio-economic reforms and initiatives of the national government under the leadership of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma explained.
More female workers were also added to the labor force, improving to 55.7% from 53.4%.
However, the underemployment rate increased in September to 11.9%, a slight increase from 10.7% in the same period last year.
“The passage of the Konektadong Pinoy Bill and expanding efforts to equip the workforce with emerging and in-demand skills are deemed necessary. We will strengthen collaboration with the private sector and academe to upskill the workforce, particularly in using digital technologies and other innovations,” Balisacan added.
—av