FILE PHOTO: People applying for land-based jobs abroad sign up and submit their resumes at different accredited employment agencies at the Department of Migrant Workers main office lobby in Mandaluyong City. An Overseas Mega Jobs Fair was offered by the DMW on the 125th anniversary of Philippine Independence and Nationhood. INQUIRER/LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s unemployment rate is forecast to decrease in the last quarter of the year as the holidays are seen to boost job opportunities.
Economist Michael Ricafort said in a forum Saturday that a surge in employment is possible because the holiday season offers favorable circumstances for hiring and livelihood.
“Iyong unemployment rate, puwede pa pong bumaba iyan kasi October, November, December … dadami po iyong hiring ‘no, iyong mga employment opportunity, job opportunities, livelihood opportunities towards the holiday season,” said Ricafort, chief economist of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation.
(The unemployment rate, that can still go down because October, November, December… hiring will increase, the employment opportunities, job opportunities, livelihood opportunities towards the holiday season.)
READ: PH jobless rate slightly up to 4.5% in Sept
Ricafort also said that increased spending during the holidays, as well as increased demand for supplies and services, will likewise possibly contribute to the unemployment rate slowdown.
The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier reported that unemployment rate in September was at 4.5 percent – slightly higher than the 4.4 percent unemployment rate in August.
READ: Jobless, underemployment rates fell in August
“Iyong 4.5 na iyan, puwede iyan bumaba pa papalapit doon sa four percent. Kasi iyong pinakamababa sa unemployment rate, 4.2% in November of last year kasi iyon na po ‘yung pinakamababa noong nagsimula iyong pandemya,” Ricafort said.
(That 4.5, it can drop closer to four percent. Because the lowest unemployment rate was the 4.2% in November of last year, that was already the lowest since the pandemic started.)