Unemployment rate in the Philippines fell to 4.8 percent in July 2023 from 5.2 percent a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.
National statistician and civil registrar general Dennis Mapa said in an online briefing the July figure was higher than 4.5 percent in June.
“In terms of level, the number of unemployed in July 2023 was estimated at 2.27 million, posting a decline of 329,000 from 2.60 million reported in July 2022,” Mapa said.
Employment rate in July reached 95.2 percent, higher than the reported rate in July 2022 at 94.8 percent, but lower than the estimate in June 2023 at 95.5 percent.
The labor force participation rate in July 2023 decreased to 60.1 percent from 65.2 percent in July 2022 and 66.1 percent in June 2023. This LFPR in July translated into 46.90 million who were either employed or unemployed.
The number of underemployed persons—employed individuals who expressed desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have an additional, or to have a new job with longer hours of work—was registered at 7.10 million, translating into an underemployment rate of 15.9 percent.
This was higher than 13.8 percent in July 2022 and 12.0 percent in June 2023.