There are about 2.76 million Filipinos that have no jobs for the month of April, a bit fewer than the 2.87 million unemployed reported in March, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.
In a press briefing, PSA chief Dennis Mapa said the joblessness rate in the country is now at 5.7%, the lowest since the 5.3% recorded in January 2020.
April’s unemployment rate is also the lowest since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in April 2020, when the all-time high unemployment rate of 17.6% or 7.3 million jobless was reported.
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) registered the highest unemployment rate in April at 8.1%, while the Zamboanga Peninsula had the lowest at 2.9%.
Mapa also reported there were 6.40 million Filipinos underemployed or those seeking additional work hours or better job opportunities in April. Meanwhile, 45.63 million Filipinos were employed in April, down from 46.98 million in March.
The PSA data also showed that the biggest driver of the employment gain during the month was administrative and support service activities at 349,000.
Other industries that registered the largest increase in job creation include accommodation and food service activities at 343,000, transportation and storage at 289,000, agriculture and forestry at 251,000, and construction at 249,000.
Meanwhile, fishing and aquaculture, education, and wholesale and retail trade contributed to the drop in employment.
