DTI expects lower unemployment rate

We’re seeing our unemployment rate going down from the worst rate of 17.7 percent last April to 10 percent in July

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is seeing close to 5.1 percent unemployment rate by the end of 2020, as the Inter-Agency Task Force is eyeing the reopening of the country’s economy safely.

“We’re seeing our unemployment rate going down from the worst rate of 17.7 percent last April to 10 percent in July. We hope to get back closer to our pre-pandemic 5.1 percent level before yearend,” DTI secretary Ramon Lopez said in his report to the members of the Franchise Asia Philippines (FAP) on Monday.

Lopez said that in the three-runs surveys in three periods done by the DTI to over 2,000 MSME nationwide, it showed that 38 percent of companies were closed and about 50 percent partially operated during the height of the ECQ for the April-May period.

We are hoping to recover to positive growth territory by year end, in the same way that they have been posting positive growth rates in 2019.

“This went down to 11 percent (from 38 percent) in June-July, and to six percent in August-September as we were reopening the economy,” according to Lopez.

He also noted that the country’s manufacturing sector climbed back closer to the benchmark 50 index, up to 49.7 in June, from its record-low of 31.6 in April.

“The Philippines has always been posting 50 indexes. Above 50 suggests an increase in manufacturing activities and below 50 suggests a contraction – so we are about to surpass the 50 indexes. This reflected a recovery in our manufacturing indices as we eased down the community quarantine in several regions across the country. Furthermore, our Output Index has been climbing from 10.2 last April to 51.1 last June,” said Lopez.

“We are hoping to recover to positive growth territory by year end, in the same way that they have been posting positive growth rates in 2019, as well as in January and February before the lockdown this year. We are one of the few countries that have been posting positive growth last year and early this year prior to the pandemic,” he said.

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