(Eagle News) — The country’s unemployment rate went down in May as quarantine restrictions eased amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to recent Philippine Statistics Authority data, the 7.7 percent rate registered in that month was lower than the 8.7 percent recorded in April.
The 7.7 unemployment rate, the PSA said, was the second-lowest reported for the year.
According to the PSA, the 7.7 percent unemployment rate translates to 3.73 million unemployed individuals aged 15 and above, 408,000 individuals less than the 4.14 million reported in April.
The number of employed Filipinos was at 44.72 million in May or 1.45 million more than the 43.27 million employed the month before that.
“Employed persons reported with job but not at work dropped to 1.4 percent in May 2021 from 2.5 percent in April 2021,” the PSA said.
The following, it said, were the top five sub-sectors with the highest number of employed persons:
a. Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor and motorcycles (10.24 million)
b. Agriculture and forestry (9.49 million)
c. Construction (4.40 million)
d. Manufacturing (3.55 million);
e. Transportation and storage (2.91 million).
Youth employment rate increased to 85.5 percent in May from the 84.2 percent reported in April, the PSA said.
