JOBLESS FILIPINOS INCREASED TO 2.04 MILLION IN APRIL, PSA

Ages 15 above that are jobless rose to 2.04 million in April (Photo courtesy of Danny Pata/GMA News)

For second month straight in April, the number of Filipinos unemployed or without livelihoods continued to increase. As the labor demand in the agriculture sector is still affected by the El Niño phenomenon based on the result of Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest Labor Force Survey (LFS).

The PSA said that the jobless rate for April was 4 with 2.04 million Filipinos, which was higher than the 3.9 percent in March of 2 million jobless workers. Compared to 12.9 percent in April 2023, unemployment rate also increases to 14.6 in April 2024.

According to PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa, the decreased in employed persons is highest on agriculture and forestry with 818,000 because of the impact of El Niño as production was lower. Followed by retail trade and wholesale and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles at 587,000.

Meanwhile, 85,000 on human health and social work activities were recorded annual decreases in jobs, also in public administration and defense compulsory social security with 72,000, and real estate activities lowered to 68,000.

Sectors with the highest growth in employed persons are accommodation and food service activities (638,000), construction (378,000), transportation and storage (289,000), manufacturing (285,000), and other service activities (200,000). 

The Philippine Statistics Authority said, “In terms of magnitude, 7.04 million of the 48.36 million employed individuals expressed the 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 in April 2024.”

Source: ABS-CBN News

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