MANILA, Philippines — The country’s unemployment rate fell at the end of April as economic growth finally resulted in the creation of new jobs, according to government data released Tuesday.
Unemployment fell to 7 percent at the end of April from 7.6 percent in the same month last year, the National Economic Development Authority said. But the figure did not take into account the effects of Super Typhoon “Yolanda,” particularly in the province of Leyte.
Gains were reported in all major sectors of the economy, namely agriculture, industry, and services, suggesting that official economic growth targets for the year may still be within reach despite the first quarter slowdown, the NEDA said.
“This broad-based growth provides a good indicator of the quality of the country’s economic performance in the second quarter of 2014,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a press statement. “This also backs the government’s target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent gross domestic product growth for the full year.”
The drop in the unemployment rate meant an additional 1.7 million jobs or a growth of 4.5 percent at the end of April.
The quality of jobs also improved as underemployment fell to 18.2 percent from 19.2 percent in April of 2013.
The jobs report this week, however, excluded the direct effects of Super Typhoon Yoldana. Balisacan said the nationwide Labor Force Survey (LFS) was not conducted in Leyte, given the extent of the devastation the province was still dealing with.
Lower unemployment for April came despite an increase in the number of Filipinos looking for jobs. Labor force participation rate (LFPR), or the proportion of the country’s working-age population looking for work, increased to 65.2 percent in April 2014, from 63.8 percent a year ago.
“The increase in the LFPR could be partly due to greater seasonal influx of new graduates or vacationing students who are working and/or looking for new or summer employment,” he said.
The services sector contributed more than half of the workers employed (52.8 percent) and the level of employment increased by 4.8 percent or by 929,000 workers in April 2014 from a year ago. In the agriculture, fishery and forestry sector, employment rose by 3.1 percent in April 2014 accounting for 30.7 percent of the total employed.
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