Jobless rate down but underemployment rises

FEWER Filipinos were jobless at the start of the year but the number of those looking for more work also increased, the government reported on Wednesday.

Unemployment fell to 5.3 percent in January from 6.6 percent in the same month last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority’s latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) showed, equivalent to 2.32 million individuals who were out of work from 2.76 million previously.

The result was the lowest in all January rounds of the LFS since 2009 and also hit the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) target of 4.7-5.3 percent for 2018, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said in a statement.

The employment rate, at 94.7 percent from 93.4 percent previously, meant that 41.75 million Filipinos had jobs, up from 39.34 million in January 2017.

“These improvements in the labor market indicate that more Filipinos are encouraged to join and re- join the labor force, and that more people are being employed,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.

“This signals that the economy is responding positively to the economic reforms and programs that the government has been laying down,” he added.

However, the underemployment rate — the proportion of the employed wanting additional work — rose to 18 percent, higher than the 16.3 percent a year ago. The latest reading represented about 7.49 million underemployed workers, higher than the 6.39 million a year ago.

The “visibly underemployed” — those working less than 40 hours a week — accounted for 57.1 percent of the underemployed, most or whom or 44.6 percent were working in services.

Pernia said the government “must continue to raise investments and improve productivity, which in turn, will help boost the productive sectors of the economy and encourage the generation of higher quality employment opportunities.”

The creation of new businesses should be facilitated and production boosted by changes to market regulations, the passage of key reforms and the removal of structural barriers, he added.

“These include the reduction of foreign investment restrictions as well as the passage of the Ease of Doing Business bill and Package Two of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program, which will lower corporate taxes while rationalizing investment incentives,” the NEDA said.

Land Bank of the Philippines econothat the drop in unemployment pointed to increasing work opportunities but noted that higher underemployment