SWS says adult joblessness down to 27.3% in end-2020
MANILA, Philippines — A Social Weather Stations survey has found that adult joblessness in the country decreased even further as 2020 came to a close at 27.3%, per results made public on Monday.
SWS's findings is 12 points less from the 39.5% in September of last year, when much of the pandemic-related curbs set in the earlier months had been relaxed. This means that the estimated figure on jobless adults are at 12.7 million, down from the 23.7 million in the last survey.
Per the local pollster, the jobless are composed of those who voluntarily left their previous jobs, are looking for jobs for the first time, and those who lost their jobs "due to economic circumstances beyond their control."
The survey had 1,500 participants from face-to-face interviews, which ran from November 21 to 25 and has a sampling margin of ±2.5%. Such results showed joblessness in the country easing from the record high 45.5% in July 2020 against the nearly 40% in September and 27% in the final stretch of the year.
SWS also noted a sharp fall in joblessness in Visayas, where it rose among respondents in September, as well as in Mindanao.
SWS also noted that the decline in the national level is due to joblessness also falling in the regions. Visayas, for one, had a record high 52% in September, but decreased by 33 points to 19.1% in November.
The same was also seen in Mindanao, where it stood at 40% in September to 17% two months later.
Balance Luzon, meanwhile, had 33.5% in September down to 32.7% in November, while Metro Manila at 39.9% in the former to 37.8% in the latter.
Further, a decline in joblessness was also seen in both rural and urban areas, or 39.9% in September to 24.9% in November and 38.5% to 29.8%, respectively.
Still, Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger had continued to increase from 38.3%.
And while the number of Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger among the jobless fell by 21 points, it still stood at more than a majority at 57.5%.
SWS added that the hunger rate among the jobless had been higher throughout the previous year when the pandemic hit compared with those with a job or livelihood.
"Compared to September 2020, families experiencing involuntary hunger – hunger due to lack of food to eat in the last three months – fell among both the jobless (by 21 points) and among those with a job/livelihood (by 7 points)," it said.
Moderate hunger also fell significantly among the jobless, from 30.2% down to 15.3%, while those with jobs or livelihood at 16.3% to 13.3%.
Families who experienced severe hunger, or hunger felt "often" or "always" eased as well among the jobless at 6.1% from 12.3% and among those with jobs at 6.9% from 2.8%.
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