Jobless, underemployment rates drop in April as economy churns

MANILA, Philippines — Unemployment eased in April, while the quality of jobs continued to perk up as the domestic economy makes some more headroom in the labor force.

In a briefing on Friday, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported the results of a nationwide survey of 44,017 households showed there were 2.26 million Filipinos who were either jobless or out of business in April, lower than 2.42 million unemployed persons tallied in March.

That translated to an unemployment rate of 4.5% in March, inching down from the preceding month's rate of 4.7%.

That said, data showed there were 6.2 million Filipinos who sought to work longer hours in April.

This was equivalent to an underemployment rate of 12.9% in April, lower compared to the March outturn of 11.2%.

The labor market started showing signs of recovery from pandemic misery towards the final quarter of 2022, as the domestic economy reopened itself for business.

Data broken showed that economic subsectors with the largest gains in employment in April, on an annual basis, were wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (914,000), accommodation and food service activities (379,000), administrative and support service activities (345,000), transportation and storage (321,000) and other service activities (242,000).

On the other hand, five subsectors shed the largest numbers from their workforce in April when compared to a year ago. Agriculture and forestry (-290,000), manufacturing (-204,000), construction (-65,000), electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply (-18,000) and activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies (-3,000).

For Domini Velasquez, chief economist at China Banking Corp, was bullish on the labor market’s prospects as data showed improvements across all indicators in April

“There are no signs of a deterioration in the country’s employment outlook in the near term, due to continued economic expansion,” she said in a Viber message.

National Statistican Clare Dennis Mapa reckoned that the latest figures benefitted from the resumption of economic activities, as the jobless rate was back to 2019 levels since July 2022.

As it is, data showed the subsectors of manufacturing (-225,000), information and communication (-66,000), transportation and storage (-18,000), electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply (-17,000), agriculture and forestry (-10,000), real Estate Activities (-5 thousand), activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies (-1,000), all fared poorly compared to the preceding quarter as industries trimmed their workforce based on the PSA’s survey.

Leonardo Lanzona, an economist at Ateneo De Manila University, turned critical on the latest jobs data.

“Information on accessibility of nonstandard labor arrangements, such as online labor platforms which offer jobs but not much in compensation, is particularly crucial at this point. These informal jobs may be quite widespread,” he said.

That said, Velasquez noted that risks on the labor market’s recovery abound.

“Key risks remain to be higher than expected minimum wage hikes, El Nino’s impact on the agriculture sector, and slow down in exports industries,” she added.