The country's unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent in September this year from 5 percent in the same month last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
"The unemployment rate was posted at 4.5 percent in September 2023, which was lower compared with the 5.0 percent unemployment rate in the same month of the previous year, but slightly higher than the unemployment rate in August 2023 at 4.4 percent," the PSA said in its latest data released on Wednesday.
In a press briefing, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said that there were 2.26 million unemployed Filipinos in September 2023, as opposed to 2.5 million during the same period last year.
The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is at 64.1 percent, or about 49.93 million Filipinos aged 15 years and older who were either employed or unemployed.
This current rate of LFPR is lower compared to the 64.7 percent from the previous month of August.
Meanwhile, the employment rate for this month is 95.5 percent, a slight decrease from 95.6 percent in August, but this is way higher than the recorded employment rate in September 2022 at 95.0 percent.
The number of Filipinos who are employed and above the age of 15 was recorded at 47.67 million in September 2023, up from 47.58 million in the same month the previous year.
As of August, 48.07 million people were employed.
Underemployment is at 10.7 percent, which was also lower than 11.7 percent in August.
11,156 Filipino households nationwide participated in the survey.
