In June 2024, the Philippines’ unemployment rate saw a significant decrease, dropping to 3.1%, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). However, underemployment slightly increased, reflecting shifts in the country’s labor market. The Philippines unemployment June 2024 rate was down from 4.1% in May and 4.5% in June of the previous year, showing an improvement in job availability. This change means that 1.62 million Filipinos were unemployed, which is 486,000 fewer than in May and 707,000 fewer than in June last year.
However, underemployment, which includes those seeking additional work hours or jobs to supplement their income, increased to 21.1% in June 2024. This rise from 9.9% in May and 12% in June last year means 6.08 million Filipinos were underemployed, 1.27 million more than in May.
National Statistician and PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa explained that the rise in underemployment was due to more workers joining the labor force. In June 2024, the labor force comprised 51.9 million workers, higher than 50.97 million in May and 51.17 million in June last year.
“This increase in workers means more people got jobs. Compared to last year, we have 1.44 million more employed people, which is quite a lot,” Mapa said. He also mentioned, “Our job market took in more workers, but not everyone found full-time jobs.”
The PSA pointed out a few sectors that saw job growth over the year:
Construction: 938,000 jobs
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles: 527,000 jobs
Accommodation and food service activities: 396,000 jobs
Manufacturing: 353,000 jobs
Transportation and storage: 323,000 jobs
Mapa noted a big rise in construction jobs, especially in building construction. Many of these new jobs were salaried positions in the private sector. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) agreed, saying the government’s quick infrastructure projects and better conditions for manufacturing firms helped create these jobs.
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said, “The government’s fast infrastructure projects and improved conditions for manufacturing firms led to these job gains. More investments in renewable energy, water supply, and mining and quarrying also helped employment grow in these areas.”
However, some sectors lost jobs:
Agriculture and forestry: -916,000 jobs
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security: -340,000 jobs
Fishing and aquaculture: -81,000 jobs
Education: -71,000 jobs
Financial and insurance activities: -42,000 jobs
Despite these losses, NEDA said the overall job market improved, with more full-time workers (+3.1 million), wage and salaried workers (+2.0 million), and middle-skilled workers (+1.7 million).
To keep this progress, Balisacan said, “We will keep improving the business environment to attract investments that create better jobs. The government will tackle bottlenecks and speed up processes to meet investment promises and benefit from reforms.”
He also highlighted the need to boost productivity by adopting new technologies and offering opportunities for upskilling and reskilling the workforce.
