Jobs rate up 4%

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines— With more than a million new jobs created in the agriculture and industry sectors last year, the country’s employment rate rose by 4 percent.

The Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) said that subsequently, the unemployment rate dropped by .8 percent, from 8 percent in April 2010 to 7.2 percent in April this year.

The employment growth translated to 1.4 million new jobs, or from 35.4 million to 36.8 million, while the unemployment rate went down by 228,000 jobs, or from 3 million in April last year to 2.8 million in April 2011.

BLES reported that the labor market regained momentum in April 2011 as employment grew.

The government sector accounted for 302,000 jobs out of the total 1.4 million new jobs created, according to the BLES report. Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon