Phl jobless rate rises to 7.5 pct in April

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The unemployment rate in the Philippines rose to 7.5 percent in April as 600,000 farm workers lost their jobs owing to adverse weather conditions, according to data issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) today.

This compares 6.9 percent in April 2012.

In its latest Labor Force Survey, the NSO said that the number of agricultural workers fell from an estimated 12.47 million in April 2012 to 11.84 million in April 2012.

The agricultural sector employs about 30 percent of the total labor force.

The huge job loss in the farm sector is attributed to strong typhoons that destroyed farmland in late 2012. The Bureau of Agriculture Statistics said farmers were hesitant to plant owing to the expected onslaught of a dryspell in the coming months, reducing job opportunities for farm workers.

“Employment (in the farm sector) is bound to be adversely affected in times of natural disaster,” said Emmanuel F. Esguerra, deputy director general of the National Economic and Development Authority.

Esguerra said an effective disaster response system and diversification of agricultural production may help in solving joblessness in the farm sector.

Most of the 3.09 million jobless people are male, aged from 15 to 24 years old and only completed secondary school. The national capital region and the CALABARZON region posted the highest unemployment rates, with more than ten percent of their workforce unemployed.

The number of underemployed people was estimated at 7.25 million, placing the underemployment rate at 19.2 percent. More than 80 percent of the underemployed work in agriculture and services sectors.

The country’s total labor force comprises 64.03 million people, 37.82 million of whom are employed. The services sector is the biggest employer, with more than half of the employed people working in this sector.