By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, A reporter
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE in November fell the most in five months as businesses took up new hires ahead of the holidays, the statistics agency said on Wednesday.
Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Labor Force Survey showed the unemployment rate dropped to 3.2% in November, down from 3.9% in October and 3.6% in the same month last year.
This translated to 1.66 million unemployed Filipinos in November, down from 1.97 million in October and 1.83 million last year.
3.2% was the lowest unemployment rate since June 2024 when it fell to 3.1%.
In the first 11 months of the year, the unemployment rate reached 3.9%, down from 4.5% last year.
Meanwhile, the employment rate has also improved as the unemployment rate fell to 10.8% in November, which is the lowest figure since the 9.9% seen in May. It was also lower than 12.6% in October and 11.7% in the same month in 2023.
The number of unemployed Filipinos – those looking for longer working hours or more work – fell by 728,000 month-on-month to 5.35 million in November. Year-on-year, the number dropped by 432,000 from 5.79 million.
The unemployment rate reached 12% in the January to November period, down from 12.4% a year ago.
“Our labor market is still strong, employment rates are at an all-time high and job opportunities are shrinking. The next step is to expand business and employment opportunities so that more Filipinos can contribute actively and productively to the economy,” said National Economic and Development Secretary (NEDA) Arsenio M. Balisacan in a statement.
PSA data also showed that the employment rate rose to 96.8% in November from 96.1% in October and 96.4% in November 2023.
This equates to 49.54 million employed Filipinos, higher than October’s 48.16 million but significantly lower than the 49.64 million in November 2023.
National Secretary and National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa says the November job gains are related to the holiday season when businesses hire more workers.
The manufacturing sector saw an annual increase of 784,000 workers to 3.71 million in November, most of them working in consumer goods, he added.
Overall, the manufactured bakery products sector added 117,000 workers, while the production of other food products, such as spices and condiments, employed another 98,000.
On the other hand, lodging and food jobs gained 528,000 workers to bring the total to 2.9 million in November. This includes restaurants and other mobile service operations, which added 310,000 jobs and temporary accommodation, which employed another 97,000.
“As expected, during the last quarter – that’s three months – we generally see growth in residential services, restaurants, and, of course, key inputs such as food products,” Mr Mapa said.
Other sectors posting the most annual job gains are human health and social work (303,000); other service jobs (239,000); and transportation and storage (190,000).
Month over month, the top five subsectors with the largest job increases were wholesale and retail trade; repair of cars and motorcycles (746,000); lodging and food service jobs (389,000); other service jobs (328,000); manufacturing (231,000); and transportation and storage (113,000).
AGRI ACTIVITIES
However, PSA data showed the agricultural sector lost 1.99 million jobs in November, due to the many typhoons that hit the country. This brought the number of people employed in the agricultural sector to 8.71 million in November.
“In the month of November, when the staff survey was conducted, we faced it [several] storms entering the country from Nov. 1 to Nov. 18. These have greatly affected our farmers and fishermen,” said Mr. Maps.
“These are two sectors that have experienced a significant decrease year after year in the number of jobs or businesses,” he added.
Mr. Mapa noted that maize farmers were “hard hit” with 400,000 job losses, while banana farmers lost 312,000 jobs.
Every year, 213,000 rice farmers lose their jobs in November. 298,000 jobs were lost in planting, replanting and other related activities, and 122,000 jobs were lost in harvesting and other related activities, Mr.
In the fisheries and aquaculture sector, sea fishing jobs decreased by 286,000.
According to the PSA, the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) – the number of people who are economically active, either employed or unemployed – increased to 64.6% in November from 63.3% in October but was down from 65.9% last year.
“Although statistically, this decrease is not significant (year-on-year), it still shows a decrease in total numbers,” said Mr. Mapa.
The biggest drop in LFPR was in the 15-24 age group, down 409,000, he added. The 35-44 age group saw an increase of 70,000.
When it comes to gender, the decline was more pronounced among women, with an annual decrease of 239,000.
“This shows a mixed trend, with some age groups experiencing an increase and others seeing a decrease,” said Mr.
Mr. Balisacan said that the government must adopt other work programs to respond to the growing choice of workers while considering the demands of the organizations.
“We will promote business development programs and skills training to ensure that these jobs offer competitive wages as our employees increase their productivity by developing people,” he said.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the labor market in the Philippines continues to improve and strengthen due to low inflation and rapid economic growth.
“We can expect more job opportunities to open up for other Filipinos,” he said.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said he expects the jobs data to continue to improve in the coming months.
“We are looking forward and we hope that the increase in the employment rate will continue and continue, unemployment and unemployment rates will decrease,” he told BusinessWorld in a Viber interview.
Meanwhile, the smaller passenger transport sector contributed significantly to the fall in unemployment in November 2024 as demand increases during the holiday season.
“The number of unemployed people has dropped to around 144,000, and passenger transport has contributed to this decrease. The sector also contributed to the previously reported increase in the number of employed persons, driven mainly by activities related to the holiday season, such as transportation and warehousing,” he said in Filipino.
Another factor in the decline in unemployment was the “other personal services” sector, which added 239,000 jobs year over year.
“A lot of people in this industry seem to have switched to full-time work,” Mr.
“The year-over-year decline in unemployment was mainly driven by transportation and storage, wholesale and retail trade, and domestic services,” he added.
Professor Benjamin B. Velasco of the University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations said that the decrease in the number of unemployed people is due to the increase in economic activity as the holiday season approaches.
He said the positive trend could continue into the first few months of 2025 as the mid-term elections spur an increase in “project-based” employment of ward leaders, election volunteers and political campaigners.
“The problem with the increase in job opportunities at these times of the year (due to holidays or elections) is that it is temporary and part-time. It does not respond to the structural constraints in the labor market that lead to unemployment of 4-5% and a low LFPR, especially for women,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
“Another sign of structural limitations is the continued bleak youth employment figures, shown in the November LFS,” he added.
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