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Philippines unemployment accelerates to 8.1 percent in August, underemployment improves

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Commuters queue to ride the EDSA bus carousel at the Monumento station in Caloocan City on September 2, 2021. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/09/29/20210902-mecq-commuters-067-md.jpg"/><figcaption>Commuters queue to ride the EDSA bus carousel at the Monumento station in Caloocan City on September 2, 2021. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</em></figcaption></figure></div><h3><strong>3.88 million Filipinos jobless - PSA</strong></h3><p>MANILA - Unemployment accelerated in August compared to the previous month, according to the latest Labor Force Survey released Thursday by the Philippine Statistics Authority.</p><p>Unemployment is at 8.1 percent for the month of August compared to 6.9 percent in July, which means 3.88 million Filipinos were jobless for the month, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a virtual press conference. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">PSA: The Philippine unemployment rate was at 8.1% in August, from 6.9% in July. <a href="https://t.co/KMgklMcJXE">pic.twitter.com/KMgklMcJXE</a></p>— Warren de Guzman (@wddeguzman) <a href="https://twitter.com/wddeguzman/status/1443381320495681546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2021</a></blockquote><p>The data reflected Metro Manila&#x27;s return to enhanced community quarantine in August. </p><p>The rise in the unemployment rate was driven by the declines in jobs in education, health, administrative support services, construction and manufacturing, data showed.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/20/21/education-sector-to-lose-p11-t-due-to-covid-19-neda">Education sector to lose over P11 trillion over next 40 years due to COVID-19: NEDA</a></li></ul><p>The education sector is projected to lose some P11.025 trillion over the next 40 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) earlier said. </p><p>Job losses in the sector, as well as the decline in productivity, contributed to the estimate as parents cut working hours to supervise homeschooling, NEDA said.</p><p>Job losses in the education sector are seen to decline after President Rodrigo Duterte <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/28/21/more-college-programs-allowed-to-hold-limited-face-to-face-classes" target="_blank">approved</a> the select implementation of face-to-face classes, economic managers said in a joint statement. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/07/21/unemployment-rate-eases-underemployment-rises-in-july">Unemployment rate eases, but underemployment rises in July as labor force shrinks</a></li></ul><p>Underemployment, meanwhile, improved to 14.7 percent for the month from 20.9 percent in July. This means about 6.48 million were underemployed or needing more work hours or opportunities.</p><p>The improvement in underemployment is proof that the government managed the COVID-19 restrictions better with the implementation of recalibrated lockdown, the economic managers said. </p><p>&quot;While the unemployment rate slightly increased, net job creation was significant and the underemployment rate decreased substantially,&quot; the statement said. </p><p>The employment rate reached 91.9 percent in August, lower compared to the 93.1 percent in July, the PSA said. This translates to 44.23 million employed individuals.</p><p>Labor force participation rose to 63.6 percent from 59.8 percent as more people rejoined the workforce. </p><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=1785663" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><div><strong>-- with reports from Warren De Guzman, ABS-CBN News</strong></div>

Unemployment is at 8.1 percent for the month of August compared to 6.9 percent in July, which means 3.88 million Filipinos were jobless.