The number of unemployed people in the Philippines rose to 2.86 million in September, and the job market is under pressure

China News Service, Manila, November 7 (Reporter Zhou Jing) Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on the 6th showed that the number of unemployed people in the Philippines rose to 2.86 million in September, higher than the 2.77 million in August and the 1.96 million in the same period last year. The unemployment rate for the month was 5.4%, up from 5.3% in August and 3.8% a year earlier.

Dennis Mapa, director of the Philippine Bureau of Statistics and national statistician, said that the labor force population increased by 1.63 million year-on-year in September, but the number of employed people only increased by 721,000, and the number of unemployed people increased by 909,000, reflecting that employment growth failed to keep pace with the expansion of labor supply.

Mapa pointed out that young people aged 15 to 24 are an important source of new labor force population. The labor force population in this age group increased by 988,000 year-on-year, and the number of employed people increased by only 606,000. The employment pressure on young people has increased.

Data show that the Philippines' labor force population reached 53.19 million in September, and the labor force participation rate was 64.5%, higher than 64% in August and the same as the same period last year. The number of people employed that month was approximately 50.32 million, and the employment rate was 94.6%, down from 94.7% in August and 96.2% in the same period last year.

In addition, the underemployment rate in the Philippines was 11% in September, lower than 11.9% in August and 11.1% in the same period last year; the underemployed population reached 5.56 million, slightly higher than the 5.52 million in the same period last year. The underemployed refer to people who are employed but wish to increase their working hours or seek additional job opportunities.

In terms of industries, the number of employees in the accommodation and catering services industry increased by 834,000 year-on-year and 449,000 month-on-month. Mapa said that as the Christmas consumption season approaches, restaurants and related companies have successively increased their employment. Employment in the wholesale and retail trade industry (including motor vehicle and motorcycle maintenance) increased by 546,000 month-on-month, which was the largest increase among the major industries, but it still decreased by 101,000 year-on-year.

From the perspective of employment structure, the service industry is still the largest employment field in the Philippines, accounting for 62.2% of the total employment; agriculture and industry account for 20.7% and 17.1% respectively.

The youth employment situation is particularly severe. In September, the unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 24 in the Philippines was 15.3%, higher than the 11.6% in the same period last year; the number of unemployed youth was approximately 1.12 million, an increase of nearly 380,000 compared with the same period last year. At the same time, the youth labor force participation rate rose to 34.1%, and approximately 715,000 employed young people were underemployed.