The country’s employment rate, while slightly higher at 96% in April year-on-year, shows that the government’s drive to revive the manufacturing sector needs to pick up.
Big job losses were also recorded in the agriculture sector despite the Department of Agriculture having its largest budget in its history this year.

The employment rate in April last year was 95.5%.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the services sector continued as the top sector in terms of the number of employed persons with a share of 61.4% of  the 48.36 million employed persons. Meanwhile, the agriculture and industry sectors accounted for 20.3% and 18.3% of the employed persons, respectively.

The sub-sectors in terms of annual increase in the number of employed persons in April 2024 were the following: accommodation and food service activities (+638,000); construction (+378,000); transportation and storage (+289,000); and other service activities (200,000). Manufacturing only accounted for an additional 285,000 jobs.

In contrast, the following five sub-sectors posted the highest annual decreases in the number of employed persons were agriculture and forestry (-818,000); agriculture and forestry (-587,000); wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (-587,000); human health and social work activities (-85,000); public administration and defense, and compulsory social security (-72,000); and real estate activities (-68,000).

Earlier, the S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reported that there has been “job shedding” in Philippine-based manufacturing companies for the first time since December 2023, with the rate of decrease the fastest in nine months.

However, the Philippine manufacturing sector continued to post a positive performance in May 2024, with the sector’s score last month recording an index higher than the neutral score of 50, at 51.9. The growth in May 2024 was slower than the April 2024 index of 52.2.
“The Filipino manufacturing sector continued to report further gains mid-way through the second quarter, with growth sustained in new orders and output. Further expansions in business requirements supported a rise in purchasing activity and inventories,” S&P Global Market Intelligence economist Maryam Baluch said.

UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT

Meanwhile, the number of unemployed Filipinos declined to 2.04 million in April this year from 2.26 million in the same month last year, the PSA added.

PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the country’s unemployment rate was estimated at 4.0%, down from the recorded 4.5% in April 2023.
The number of underemployed persons – or those who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their current job or to have an additional job or to have a new job with longer hours of work – was estimated at 7.04 million, translating to an underemployment rate of 14.6 percent.

For its part, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the government remains committed to creating more high-quality jobs for Filipinos by investing in human capital, reinvigorating industry and priority sectors, and pushing for massive infrastructure development.

“The government’s massive infrastructure push is expected to create opportunities in several priority sectors, such as energy, logistics, and tourism. The government will also explore opportunities for quality job growth in the mining sector, leveraging available technologies to develop value-adding activities such as mineral processing,” said NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

“Investing in human capital—improving education, healthcare, and social services— remains a top priority. The government is currently drafting the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) Plan, which will serve as the country’s comprehensive employment generation and recovery master plan. It aims to address unemployment, underemployment, informal working arrangements, and other labor market challenges,” he added.

(PNA photo by Yancy Lim)