Jobless rate inches down, but ranks of underemployed shoot up

MANILA – (UPDATED 11:19 a.m.) The number of unemployed Filipinos dropped slightly in July, but those looking for additional jobs were on the rise, the National Statistics Office said on Tuesday.

In a report, the NSO said the jobless rate fell to 7 percent of the country’s labor force, or to 2.82 million Filipinos, from 7.1 percent or 2.84 million in the same month last year.

The NSO said 40.4 million Filipinos were in the labor force out of the estimated 63.1 million people aged 15 years and over.

The number of employed Filipinos reached 37.6 million, translating to an employment rate of 93 percent last July from 92.9 percent the previous year.

Despite the slight drop in the jobless rate, the number of people who are employed but still looking for additional income rose to 22.7 percent or 8.5 million Filipinos this year, from 19.1 percent last year.

The NSO said 42.5 percent of the underemployed worked in the services sector, while another 41.5 percent in agriculture. Sixteen percent of underemployed people worked in industry. –Darwin G. Amojelar, InterAksyon.com