The unemployment rate in the Philippines fell to a three-month low of 4.4 percent in August 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday. This is the lowest unemployment rate since May 2023.
The number of employed persons also increased to 48.07 million in August, up from 47.87 million a year earlier.
NEDA said that apart from the decline in underemployment, several other indicators pointed to an accompanying increase in the quality of employment, including the increase in wage and salary, and full-time employment, and the decline in vulnerable and part-time employment.
“However, much remains to be done as the number of middle- and high-skilled occupations decreased (-354,000), while low-skilled occupations increased (+551,000) compared to the previous year,” NEDA said.
The government said it is committed to generating high-quality and high-paying job opportunities for workers. It cited recent developments such as the Senate’s approval of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act and the launch of the National Innovation Agenda and Strategy Document (NIASD) 2023-2032 that are expected to open greater opportunities for the Philippine labor market.
