Unemployed Pinoys up by 1 M in first quarter – SWS

MANILA, Philippines – The number of unemployed Filipinos rose by one million in the first quarter of the year, a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said.

The SWS poll, conducted from March 19 to 22, placed the country’s unemployment rate at 25.4 percent (about 11.1 million), up from 24.6 percent (estimated 10.1 million) in December.

The jobless Filipinos who quit or were retrenched were at 12 and eight percent, respectively, the SWS said. The remaining five percent without work were first-time jobseekers. Of the eight percent retrenched workers, six percent had their contracts terminated.

Those whose firms shut down dipped from two to one percent and those who were laid off remained at one percent.

The number of Filipinos who resigned from their jobs rose from 11 percent in December, while first-time jobseekers rose from three percent.

The SWS said unemployment rose in all areas, except among women and those in the 25-34 age bracket. It increased by two points among men to 17.3 percent and was slightly up to 35.4 percent from 35.7 percent among women.

Joblessness dropped by a point to 31.8 percent among the “intermediate youth” (those aged 25-34). It slightly changed to 15.8 percent from 15.5 percent among those aged 45 and above. It rose by three points to 23 percent among the middle-aged (35-44 years) and by two points to 49.6 percent among the youth (18-24).

Government data showed that unemployment rate was at 7.1 percent as of January (equivalent to 2.89 million), higher than the 6.8 percent recorded in October 2012.

The SWS said unemployment has been high since May 2005, falling below 20 percent only three times – the last in September 2010 at 18.9 percent.

While the unemployment figures were up, more Filipinos remained optimistic on job availability for the next 12 months, the SWS said. –Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) with Mayen Jaymalin