Number of jobless Filipinos up to 2.99M in June 2022, PSA reports

Jobseekers flock the annual Job fair at the Luneta Park as part of the Philippine Independence Day activities. INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly three million Filipinos in the labor force were unemployed in June 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Monday.

The PSA said the June unemployment rate was actually the same as that in May at 6 percent. However, the number of jobless Filipinos increased to 2.99 million in June from 2.93 million in May as more people joined the labor force, including those above 65 years old who had to look for jobs amid rising consumer prices, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said.

According to the PSA, the employment rate in June remained at 94 percent or 46.59 million of the 49.58 million Filipinos in the labor force– mainly those who are 15 years old and above. This was higher by 508,000 compared to the 46.08 million employed in May. And the rate was also higher than the 92.3 percent recorded in June last year.

“The average weekly hours worked by an employed person in June 2022 was estimated at 40.3 hours, higher than the mean hours worked obtained in May 2022 (39.8 hours) and in June 2021 (39.0 hours),” the PSA added.

Meanwhile, underemployment rate, which Merriam-Webster defines as “jobs inadequate with respect to their training or economic needs”, was at 12.6 percent in June 2022.

The PSA said this was lower than the 14.5 percent underemployment rate recorded in May 2022.

“This translates to a decrease of 780,000 underemployed people from 6.67 million in May 2022 to 5.89 million in June 2022,” the PSA said.

READ: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1623404/unemployment-rate-up-to-6-in-may

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