MANILA, Philippines ? Unemployment especially in the manufacturing sector will continue to rise, and laid-off overseas Filipino workers have reached over 5,000 in February as a result of the global financial crisis, an official of the Department of Labor and Employment said Tuesday.

Unemployment will continue to be more pronounced in export-oriented manufacturing, like the electronics, garments, and metal components sectors, Labor Undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz told the House labor and employment committee.

A total of 64,912 workers in the manufacturing sector had been laid off as of Feb. 16, accounting for about 77 percent of the total number of workers affected by the global financial crisis, Baldoz said.

Mining sector employment will also decline, with 6,242 concerned workers already affected by the crisis, he added.

The most number of laid-off overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) was in Taiwan, accounting for 78.7 percent of the total number of displaced OFWs, Baldoz said.

Others were in the United Arab Emirates (5.6 percent), Canada (3.4 percent), Macau (2.9 percent) and Brunei (2.3 percent), he said.

On the other hand, several sectors gained in employment despite the crisis, Baldoz said. Agriculture, hunting and forestry showed an increase of about 261,000 in workers, he said.