Unemployment rate in PH rose by 1.6M in January — PSA

By Margret Fermin, 9 Mar 2021

In the Philippines, the unemployment rate in January 2021 remained the same as the October 2020 rate of 8.7 percent. This is the lowest since April 2020 but higher than the January 2020 rate of 5.3 percent.

In terms of magnitude, around 4.0 million Filipinos 15 years old and over were unemployed in January 2021 compared to 2.4 million in January 2020.

Labor force participation rate (LFPR) in January 2021 was placed at 60.5 percent accounting for 45.2 million Filipinos 15 years and over who were in the labor force. This is lower than the LFPR in the same period a year ago at 61.7 percent but higher than the previous quarter’s 58.7 percent.

Employment rate in January 2021 stood at 91.3 percent, which is the same as the October 2020 rate. This means that 41.2 million Filipinos were employed out of 45.2 million Filipinos in the labor force in January 2021. This estimated rate is lower than the reported 94.7 percent in January 2020.

Underemployed persons or employed persons who expressed their desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work was estimated at 6.6 million or 16.0 percent of the total employed persons in January 2021. This underemployment rate is higher than the October 2020 rate of 14.4 percent, and the January 2020 rate of 14.8 percent.

The average weekly hours of work of an employed person decreased in January 2021 at 39.3 hours from an average of 41.3 hours in January 2020. This is also lower than the average weekly hours of work in October 2020 at 40.8 hours.

By region, unemployment rates in seven (7) areas of the country were reportedly higher than the national estimate of 8.7 percent in January 2021. Two of these regions, CALABARZON, and Bicol Region, reported double-digit unemployment rates of 13.1 percent, and 11.3 percent, respectively. Equivalently, these regions were reported to have more than ten unemployed persons for every 100 persons in the labor force.

Among men and women, labor force participation rate in January 2021 was higher for men (73.9%) than for women (46.9%). On the other hand, employment rate for men was registered at 91.3 percent while 91.2 percent for women. Men also reported higher underemployment rate at 17.6 percent compared to underemployment rate for women at 13.4 percent.

By industry group, the services sector remained dominant with 57.2 percent share to the total employed persons, followed by the agriculture sector with 24.4 percent share, and the industry sector with 18.4 percent which accounted for the smallest share.

Youth LFPR was placed at 34.7 percent in January 2021, 33.9 percent in October 2020, and 37.4 percent in January 2020. Youth employment rate was lowest in January 2021 at 80.2 percent compared to the rates in October 2020 and in January 2020 at 80.6 percent and 86.4 percent, respectively. Underemployed youth was estimated at 826 thousand out of the 5.6 million 15 to 24 years old individuals reported as employed in January 2021. Youth unemployment rate was higher at 19.8 percent accounting for around 1.4 million youth with no job or business in January 2021.