Jobless rate eases but underemployment up

FEWER Filipinos were without work in July but the number of those looking for more gainful employment increased, government data released on Wednesday showed.

Unemployment eased to 5.4 percent from 5.6 percent a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported, while underemployment rose to 17.2 percent from 16.3 percent.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) noted that the latest jobless and employment rates (94.6 percent from 94.4 percent) were the highest in a decade for the July rounds of the PSA’s Labor Force Survey.

Total employment rose to 40.7 million, the NEDA added.

“[ T]his puts the government on track in meeting its target of 900,000-1.9 million employment generation for 2018,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said in a statement.

He noted, however, that the rise in underemployment — along with still-high youth unemployment of 14.1 percent — had highlighted the need for quality jobs.

“In order to meet our employment targets, government should provide an environment that is conducive to creating more and better jobs. It should prioritize policies and programs that address the issues of unutilized youth, unemployed youth, underemployment and vulnerable workers,” Pernia said.

Based on the latest LFS, the services sector accounted for the bulk of employment (57.5 percent) followed by agriculture (23.1 percent) and industry (19.2 percent).

Wage and salary workers made up 65.3 percent of the employed, followed by the self- employed (26.2 percent) and unpaid family workers (4.6 percent).

Full-time workers comprised 71.2 per-