Jobless rate hits six-month high

UNEMPLOYMENT rose in January as demand for workers cooled after the holiday season, the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday.

The jobless rate rose to a six-month high of 4.3 percent from 3.1 percent in December 2024, but was lower than the 4.5 percent recorded in January 2024.

The rate — the highest since last July's 4.7 percent — translated to 2.16 million unemployed Filipinos, 530,000 more than December's 1.63 million. It matched that in January 2024.

Deputy National Statistician Divina Gracia del Prado attributed the increase in unemployment to job seasonality.

"Every December, [the] number of employed shoots up and then come January it goes down since the demand for workers was lessened," she said.

Underemployment — which counts those looking for more work or an extra job — also rose in January to 13.3 percent, up from 10.9 percent a month earlier, but lower than the yearago 13.7 percent.

The number of underemployed individuals stood at 6.47 million.

Employment fell to 95.7 percent from 96.9 percent, but was slightly higher than year-earlier 95.5 percent.

The number of individuals with jobs reached 48.49 million, lower than December's 50.19 million, but up from 45.90 million in January 2024.

The services sector continued to account for the bulk of jobs with a 61.6-percent share of the total.

The labor force participation rate — a measure of the active workforce — came in at 63.9 percent, lower than the 65.1 percent recorded in the previous month, but higher than January 2024's 61.1 percent.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), which along with the PSA highlighted the year-on-year gain, said the government remained committed to equipping the workforce with the required skills to maintain the upward trajectory.

"[O]ur strategy remains clear: to sustain job creation by fostering a dynamic and investment-friendly economy while preparing our workforce for high-growth and emerging industries that offer high-quality, well-paying jobs," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

Efforts to reduce red tape and clarify investment policies via the recent approval of the Create More law are expected to encourage investors to expand their operations and in the process create more jobs, he added.

The NEDA chief also emphasized the need for resilience in agriculture to address vulnerable jobs, and said the government would be utilizing artificial intelligence to enhance disaster preparedness.

The government will also prioritize the reskilling of workers in the outsourcing industry given the increasing use of AI in the industry, he added.

The Department of Labor and Employment, for its part, said the labor market data presented a "promising outlook" that also highlighted a need for "focused attention."

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma acknowledged challenges such as declines in manufacturing, professional services, and construction jobs and said that targeted interventions were needed.

He said that job generation efforts via regular job fairs, support for medium, small and micro enterprises, and the digitalization of public employment services would continue in a bid to further strengthen the labor market.

Updated rules on the employment of foreigners will also help strengthen regulations that prioritize jobs for Filipinos, along with partnerships that promote job information sharing, are also expected to help, Laguesma said.