Philippine jobless rate surges to four-year high in July as growth slows
The capital region, Metro Manila, logs the highest jobless rate, amid an influx of new graduates
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[MANILA] The Philippines’ jobless rate climbed to the highest in four years as fresh graduates sought work in an economy that slowed due to a corruption scandal and the global oil shock.
The July unemployment rate stood at 6 per cent, the statistics agency reported on Tuesday (Sep 8). That matches the rate in June 2022, when the economy was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
The capital region of Metro Manila logged the highest jobless rate of 8.2 per cent, partly due to the influx of new graduates.
More than 3.7 million people joined the labour market from a year ago and not all of them were absorbed by employers, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a briefing.
More than a million of them were aged between 15 and 24 years, and had transitioned from schooling, he said.
The latest jobs data comes as the administration of the country’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is already under pressure by rising costs of living.
This also comes as the Philippines grapples with the highest inflation in South-east Asia and as companies are wary of hiring more people amid slower economic expansion.
Philippine economic growth sharply slowed to 2.3 per cent in the second quarter. Businesses have also become more pessimistic, with overall confidence index down to negative 20.3 per cent in July from zero in June, according to the latest central bank survey.
The central bank said that over the next 12 months, fewer firms indicated plans to hire additional workers amid expectations of softer growth and elevated inflation.
“More Filipinos are participating in the labour market, which means that we need to intensify efforts to attract investments, especially those that create quality jobs,” Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement. BLOOMBERG
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