Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recorded that around 3.13 million Filipinos were jobless in February 2022. This is a slight increase from the 2.93 million count from January.
The unemployment rate remained at 6.4%, similar to January. This is also the lowest it has been since the pandemic began.
Despite the same unemployment rate, PSA reported that the participation rate is at 63.8% from the previous 60.5%. This translates to 48.61 million people actively looking for jobs.
In February, the employment rate remained at 93.6%. A total of 45.48 million adults were employed; this is a 2.46 million increase from the month prior.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) attributed this outcome to eased alert level classifications.
The National Economic and Development Authority emphasized that they aim to shift the country to Alert Level 1 to decrease the number of unemployment.
NEDA Chief Karl Chua said that the shift to Alert Level 1 must be maximized, and he urged for the full and urgent resumption of in-person classes.
He said, “This will allow one-fourth of the parents who stay at home supporting their children during online classes to work.”