Unemployment dips in April, but underemployment rises

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Pedestrians walk at a crossing in Makati City on July 12, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/tvpatrol/06/09/20220712-pedestrians-economy-makati-md-17.jpg"/><figcaption>Pedestrians walk at a crossing in Makati City on July 12, 2022. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE)</strong> — The Philippine economy added more jobs in April with the unemployment rate easing further during the month, the state statistics bureau said on Friday.</p><p>However, the Philippine Statistics Authority also said that the underemployment rate in April was higher compared to the previous month.</p><p>The PSA said April’s unemployment rate was 4.5 percent, which is equivalent to 2.26 million jobless Filipinos. This is lower than the previous month&#x27;s 4.7 percent rate or 2.42 million jobless Filipinos and January&#x27;s 4.8 percent equivalent to 2.37 million, data showed.</p><p>The underemployment rate in April, meanwhile, slightly rose to 12.9 percent, equivalent to 6.2 million compared to 11.2 percent or 5.44 million in March. </p><p>National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the top contributors to the increase in underemployment in April compared to March are the wholesale and trade sector, agriculture, construction, manufacturing and education.</p><p>The rise in underemployment was also driven by the Holy Week holidays, he said.</p><p>&quot;Ang isa dito holidays nga, pag hindi pumapasok hindi susuweldo. April meron tayo Holy Week (One of the reasons is the holiday, if they don&#x27;t go to work, they won&#x27;t get paid),&quot; Mapa said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/26/23/sws-69-percent-of-filipinos-say-its-hard-to-find-jobs">SWS: 69 percent of Filipinos say it&#x27;s hard to find jobs</a></li></ul><p>Underemployed workers have jobs but seek more job hours, according to the PSA. A high underemployment rate is seen to reflect the low quality of jobs available in an economy.</p><p>However, the PSA also noted that April&#x27;s underemployment rate is lower than January 2023 and April 2022 at 14.1 percent and 14 percent, respectively, the PSA said.</p><p>Malacañang hailed the development, saying President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.&#x27;s administration&#x27;s efforts have started to materialize. </p><p>&quot;The efforts by the Marcos administration to create more jobs for Filipinos started to pay off,&quot; said Press Secretary Cheloy Garafil in a statement. </p><div><strong>SERVICES UP, AGRI AND MANUFACTURING DOWN</strong></div><p>The services sector again accounted for the most number of jobs gained since April last year. Almost a million (914,000) jobs were added in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles. Accommodation and food service activities added 379,000 jobs; while administrative and support service activities added another 345,000 jobs. </p><p>Agriculture and forestry meanwhile lost 290,000 jobs; manufacturing lost 204,000 jobs; and construction lost 65,000 jobs over the past 12 months. </p><p>However, construction appears to be on the rebound as it added 301,000 jobs since the last quarter, according to PSA data. </p><p>Manufacturing and information and communications meanwhile shed 225,000 and 66,000 jobs respectively in the previous three months. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/08/23/ph-unemployment-rate-dips-to-47-pct-in-march">PH unemployment rate dips to 4.7 pct in March</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/12/23/list-jobstreet-shares-tips-on-creating-winning-resumes">LIST: Jobstreet shares tips on creating &#x27;winning&#x27; resumes</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/business/05/01/23/work-life-balance-among-jobseekers-top-priority-in-new-normal-jobstreet">Work-life-balance top priority of jobseekers in new normal: Jobstreet</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2600108" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

The unemployment rate in April eased further to 4.5 percent, the state statistics bureau said on Friday.

Unemployment dips in April, but underemployment rises | ABS-CBN

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Unemployment dips in April, but underemployment rises

Unemployment dips in April, but underemployment rises

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 09, 2023 09:25 AM PHT

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Updated Jun 09, 2023 03:00 PM PHT

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