The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the country’s unemployment rate declined to 10 percent or an equivalent of 4.6 million individuals in July.
The July data dropped from the 7.3 million count of jobless individuals last April of this year.
According to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), around 7.5 million jobs have returned with the gradual relaxing of quarantine restrictions. Most of these work are from sectors of wholesale and retail, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and others.
“Basically ‘yung ease in community quarantine nagbalikan ‘yung mga tao sa trabaho, ngunit may ibang areas particularly ‘yung regional econ centers kung saan may double digit unemployment and ‘yung NCR mas tumaas pa ang unemployment noong July (Basically the ease in community quarantine has led people back to work but there are areas particularly the regional economic centers where there is double digit unemployment and unemployment increased in the NCR in July),” PSA USec. Dennis Mapa explained.
PSA data show that regions with high unemployment rate are the National Capital Region (NCR) with 15.8 percent, Region 4A with 12.4 percent, Region 7 with 11.8 percent, Region 1 with 11.1 percent, and Region 3 with 10.9 percent. These figures are above the regional average of 10 percent.
Latest figures from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) state that 83,654 establishments temporarily closed, affecting at least 2 million workers. A total of 28,881 establishments with 1.2 million workers are under flexible work arrangement, and 9,548 permanently closed and retrenched 180,000 workers.
The NEDA said three factors must be undertaken to reduce the number of unemployed individuals. This includes following minimum health standards, strengthening the test-trace-isolate measure, and opening of public transportation.
“If we achieve all these, we will see 2.4 to 2.8 million additional employment next year that will allow us to lower unemployment rate to 6.8 percent by next year, so this will be a gradual lowering,” NEDA Acting Sec. Karl Kendrick Chua elucidated. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio
