2.38 million Filipinos jobless in July — PSA

September 6, 2024 | 10:01am

MANILA, Philippines — The number of unemployed Filipinos surged to 2.38 million in July 2024 from 1.62 million in June 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on said Friday, September 6.

In percentage, July’s unemployment rate surged to 4.7% from 3.1% in June. 

“The total number of unemployed individuals in July 2024 was registered at 2.38 million. This was higher than the estimated number of unemployed persons of 2.29 million in July 2023 and 2.04 million in April 2024,” the PSA said. 

July’s employment rate fell to 95.3% from 96.9%. This translates to 47.70 million employed persons. 

“In terms of level, the total number of employed persons in July 2024 was estimated at 47.70 million,” the PSA said. 

Per region, the National Capital Region posted the highest unemployment rate in July at 6.5%, while the Cordillera Administrative Region had the lowest at 2.3%. 

PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa attributed this rise of unemployment rate due to more substantial data collected, where they saw an increase of youth unemployment. The youth had a 43% contribution to the unemployment rate to the total joblessness. 

Mapa said that this was likely due to the youth who just graduated and have just entered the job market. 

It should be noted that the PSA follows the International Labor Organization’s standards for an employed person, which means they only need to work at least one hour per reference week. 

Meanwhile, the underemployment rate from June to July 2024 remained the same at 12.1%, which means that there are 5.78 million Filipinos who are underemployed. The PSA defines an underemployed person as someone who wishes to have additional work hours or desires to have another job for additional income. 

Soccskargen registered the highest underemployment rate at 29.3%, while the Davao Region had the lowest at 3.7%. 

The service sector comprises 60.8% of the workforce, which translates to 29.01 million Filipinos. The agriculture sector followed at 21.2% (10.11 million) and the industry sector at 18.0% (8.58 million).