By means of Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter
THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE in November fell to the lowest level in five months as companies increased hiring ahead of the holidays, the statistics agency said on Wednesday.
Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Labor Force Survey shows that the unemployment rate fell to 3.2% in November, down from 3.9% in October and 3.6% in the same month last year .
This translated to 1.66 million unemployed Filipinos in November, down from 1.97 million in October and 1.83 million a year earlier.
The 3.2% was the lowest unemployment rate since June 2024, when it fell to 3.1%.
During the first eleven months of the year, the unemployment rate averaged 3.9%, up from 4.5% a year ago.
Meanwhile, the quality of employment also improved as the unemployment rate fell to 10.8% in November, the lowest level since 9.9% in May. It was also lower than the 12.6% in October and 11.7% in the same month in 2023.
The number of underemployed Filipinos – those who want longer working hours or an additional job – fell by 728,000 month on month to 5.35 million in November. Year after year, the number fell by 432,000, from 5.79 million.
The unemployment rate averaged 12% between January and November, compared to 12.4% a year ago.
“Our labor market remains robust, with continued high employment rates and reduced underemployment. The next step is to expand business and employment opportunities to enable more Filipinos to actively and productively contribute to the economy,” National Economic and Development Organization (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a statement.
PSA data also showed that the labor force participation rate rose from 96.1% in October and 96.4% in November 2023 to 96.8% in November.
This equates to 49.54 million working Filipinos, up from 48.16 million in October but slightly lower than 49.64 million in November 2023.
Secretary of State and national statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa attributed November’s job growth to the holidays, when companies hired more workers.
The manufacturing sector saw an annual increase of 784,000 workers to 3.71 million in November, with the majority in consumer goods, he added.
Of the total, the manufactured bakery products subsector added 117,000 workers, while the production of other food products, such as spices and condiments, hired an additional 98,000 workers.
On the other hand, accommodation and catering activities attracted 528,000 employees, bringing the total in November to 2.9 million. This included restaurants and other mobile service activities, which added 310,000 people, and short-term accommodation services, which hired an additional 97,000 people.
“As expected, during the last quarter – those three months – we typically see growth in accommodation services, restaurants and of course key inputs such as food products,” Mr Mapa said.
Other sectors that saw the most annual job growth were healthcare and social work (303,000); other service activities (239,000); and transportation and storage (190,000).
Month after month, wholesale and retail trade were the top five subsectors with the greatest job growth; repair of cars and motorcycles (746,000); accommodation and catering activities (389,000); other service activities (328,000); production (231,000); and transportation and storage (113,000).
AGRI WORKS
However, PSA data shows that the agricultural sector lost 1.99 million jobs in November due to several typhoons that hit the country. This brought the number of employees in the agricultural sector to 8.71 million in November.
“In the month of November, when the labor force survey was conducted, we experienced [several] typhoons entered the country from November 1 to 18. These had a significant impact on our farmers and fishermen,” Mr Mapa said.
“These are the two sectors that saw substantial declines in the number of jobs or businesses year-on-year,” he added.
Mr Mapa noted that maize farmers were “significantly affected” with job losses of 400,000, while banana farmers lost 312,000 jobs.
Year after year, 213,000 paddy farmers lost their jobs in November. 298,000 jobs were lost in planting, transplanting and other related activities, and 122,000 jobs were lost in harvesting and other related activities, Mr Mapa said.
In the fishing and aquaculture sector, marine fishing jobs fell by 286,000.
According to the PSA, the labor force participation rate (LFPR) – the economically active population, employed or unemployed – rose from 63.3% in October to 64.6% in November, but down from 65.9% a year earlier.
“While this decline is not statistically significant (year-on-year), it still reflects a reduction in absolute numbers,” Mr Mapa said.
The biggest drop in LFPR was in the 15 to 24 age group, which fell by 409,000, he added. In the age group 35-44 years there was an increase of 70,000.
When it comes to gender, the decline was more pronounced among women, with a decrease of 239,000 year-on-year.
“This indicates mixed trends, with some age groups contributing to the increases while others saw declines,” Mr Mapa said.
Mr. Balisacan said the government should adopt alternative work arrangements to accommodate the evolving preferences of employees while taking into account the demands of organizations.
“We will encourage business improvements and skills training programs to ensure that these jobs offer competitive wages while our workers increase their productivity by developing their human capital,” he said.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the Philippine labor market continues to improve and strengthen due to the decline in inflation and faster economic growth.
“We can expect to see even more employment opportunities for our fellow Filipinos,” he said.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said he expects job numbers to continue to improve in the coming months.
“We look ahead and hope that the rise in labor force participation will continue and continue, and that unemployment and underemployment rates will trend downward,” he told BusinessWorld in a Viber chat.
Meanwhile, the land passenger transport subsector largely contributed to the decline in underemployment in November 2024 as demand increased during the holiday period.
“There was a decline of around 144,000 in the number of people in underemployment, with land passenger transport making a significant contribution to this decline. This sector also contributed to the previously reported increase in the number of employed persons, largely driven by holiday-related activities such as transportation and warehousing,” he said in Filipino.
Another factor in the decline in underemployment was the ‘other personal services’ sector, which created 239,000 jobs year after year.
“Many people in this sector seem to have made the transition to full-time employment,” Mr Mapa noted.
“The decline in the year-on-year employment gap was largely driven by transportation and warehousing, wholesale and retail trade, and domestic services,” he added.
Assistant Professor Benjamin B. Velasco of the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations said the drop in unemployment was due to the seasonal increase in economic activity ahead of the holiday season.
He said the positive trend could continue until the first few months of 2025 as the by-elections will spur an increase in “project-based” employment for neighborhood leaders, election volunteers and political campaigners.
“The problem with such a seasonal increase in employment (due to holidays or elections) is of course that it is temporary and part-time. It does not respond to the structural constraints in the labor market, which result in 4 to 5% unemployment and low LFPR, especially for women,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
“A sign of the structural constraints is the continued bleak youth employment figures, as shown in the November LFS,” he added.