The Philippine Statistics Authority on Wednesday reported a significant improvement in the labor market In September, with the economy creating more jobs to trim the unemployment rate down to 3.7 percent. The September print was lower than the 4.5 percent registered in September last year and 4.0 percent in August.
The number of unemployed individuals also decreased to 1.89 million in September from 2.26 million a year-earlier and 2.07 million in August.
The PSA said the employment rate rose to 96.3 percent of the labor force in September, up from 95.5 percent in the same month of 2023 and 96.0 in August. The September percentage represents 49.87 million employed Filipinos, an increase from 47.67 million in September 2023 and 49.15 million in August.
The labor force participation rate also rose in September to 65.7 percent compared to 64.1 percent in September 2023 and 64.8 percent in August. This indicates that more Filipinos are either employed or actively seeking work, with a total of 51.77 million Filipinos aged 15 years and older participating in the labor force in September compared with 49.93 million in September last year.
Despite the improvement in employment, the underemployment rate showed an increase, rising to 11.9 percent in September from 10.7 percent last year and 11.2 percent in August. Underemployment refers to individuals who are working part-time or seeking additional hours or jobs.
The services sector remained the dominant industry in terms of employment, accounting for 62.8 percent of all employed persons in September. The agriculture sector followed with 19.9 percent, and the industry sector contributed 17.4 percent.
Notably, certain sub-sectors showed strong growth in employment, including administrative and support services, which added 735,000 jobs, and wholesale and retail trade, which saw an increase of 486,000 jobs. However, some sectors faced declines, with accommodation and food service activities losing 242,000 jobs, and agriculture and forestry dropping by 210,000 jobs.
