Fewer jobless Filipinos, survey finds

The number of jobless Filipinos has dropped by one million during the second quarter of the year, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The survey, conducted from June 24 to 27, found that 10 million or 21.7 percent of Filipinos were unemployed, a 23.9 percent decline from the 11 million unemployed recorded during the first quarter.

This brings to an average joblessness rate to 22.8 percent last semester from 21.1 percent average in 2015’s six months.

SWS defines jobless as those who are 18 years old and above without a job and also looking for a job.

Housewives and retired individuals are excluded from the survey since they are not considered as part of the labor force.

The results were first released in the Friday edition of Business World .

Of those jobless, 10.3 percent or 4.7 million, said they have voluntarily quit their jobs, compared to April’s 12.8 percent or 5.9 million.

The SWS said 6.7 percent or about 3.1 million Filipinos lost their jobs due to uncontrolled circumstances, compared to the 7.2 percent or 3.3 million in the first quarter.

The survey found that 4.7 percent were first-time jobseekers, lower than the 3.8 percent in the previous survey.

The joblessness rate also dropped to 33.1 percent in June from 35.6 percent in April among women, and to 12.7 percent from 15.1 percent among men, the survey found.