PH jobless rate eased to record low of 3.1% in Dec. 2023

MANILA, Philippines  —The proportion of unemployed Filipinos to total labor force sank to another record-low in the final month of 2023.

There were 1.6 million jobless people in December 2023, down from 1.83 million in the preceding month, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Wednesday.

This put the jobless rate rate to 3.1 percent, the lowest since the PSA adopted a new definition of “unemployment” back in 2005. It beat the previous record-low unemployment rate of 3.6 percent recorded in November.

Underemployment rate higher

”We welcome the news of a record-low unemployment rate, signifying the economy’s sustained momentum and resiliency of our labor market,” Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the National Economic and Development Authority said.

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Joblessness eased as 658,000 more people joined the country’s labor force on a month-on-month basis.

Meanwhile, the underemployment rate in December 2023 was recorded at 11.9 percent, higher than the November figure of 11.7 percent but lower than the 12.6 percent rate recorded a year ago. A higher underemployment rate indicates declining job quality.