The unemployment rate in the country ticked up in December 2021 to 6.6 percent from the 6.5 percent in November 2021, partly triggered by the lingering concerns over the more transmissible Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus that caused some restrictions, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.
PSA data showed the total number of unemployed persons for the month was estimated at 3.27 million, higher by 113,000 from the 3.16 million unemployed persons reported a month earlier.
However, national statistician and civil registrar general Dennis Mapa said in an online briefing the slight uptick in the jobless rate was more than offset by the larger increase in the labor force participation rate, which improved to 65.1 percent from 64.2 percent.
“This meant that around 800,000 more people were able to find work as mobility restrictions were relaxed in December. This brings net employment creation to 3.7 million above pre-pandemic levels,” Mapa said.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the country’s net employment creation in December 2021 signaled the economy was on the right track to recovery.
The underemployment rate also declined to 14.7 percent in December compared to 16.7 percent in November, as the quality of jobs further improved.
“By accelerating the vaccination program and safely reopening more sectors of the economy, we were able to generate more and better jobs for the people. We look forward to building on these gains in 2022 now that we have contained the spread of Omicron and have reverted back to Alert Level 2 in the National Capital Region and several provinces,” Chua said.
Chua also said the government’s progress in implementing the 10-point policy of the Economic Development Cluster (EDC) will help bring back more employment opportunities, especially in hard-hit sectors like tourism and education.
Under Inter-Agency Task Force Resolution No. 159, the COVID-19 risk classification of countries under “green”, “yellow”, and “red”categories was temporarily suspended.
Starting Feb. 10, fully-vaccinated Filipinos and international tourists from visa-free countries are only required to show a 48-hour negative RT-PCR test result prior to departure from their country of origin.
International arriving passengers that meet these requirements are no longer required to undergo facility-based quarantine. This will help support the tourism industry’s recovery and return tourism-related employment.
Moreover, Chua said the expansion of the vaccination program to the pediatric population would help pave the way for the resumption of face-to-face classes and restore employment in the education sector.
“While employment outcomes are expected to slightly deteriorate in January 2022 due to the higher alert levels, this will only be temporary as we vigorously pursue the implementation of the EDC’s 10-point policy. This will set the stage for our full recovery in 2022,” Chua said.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the restrictions in December have slowed down economic recovery prospects as Omicron could add to disruptions in the supply chains locally and worldwide.
“… Unemployment rate could pick up in January 2022, from 6.6 percent in December 2021, possibly close to or even slightly above 7 percent, in view of higher Alert Level 3 (from 2) in Metro Manila and in many other cities and provinces in view of the sharp increase in new COVID cases, to a new record high of 39,004 posted on January 15, 2022, amid lingering concerns over the Omicron variant that led to some restrictions, after the holiday gatherings in December 2021…,” Ricafort said.
He said more people become more cautious about going out of their homes for work, business, leisure/travel, education and other economic activities amid the higher risk of being infected.
PSA said the labor force participation rate of 65.1 percent in December 2021 from the 64.2 percent reported in November 2021 was the highest for the year. The increase was equivalent to about 910,000 Filipinos 15 years old and over who were either employed or unemployed.
The country’s employment situation in December 2021 was registered at 93.4 percent, the second highest rate since January this year.
Employed persons increased by 797,000 in December 2021 estimated at 46.27 million from 45.48 million in November 2021.
The underemployment rate was estimated at 14.7 percent in December 2021 from 16.7 percent in November 2021. This was the fifth lowest underemployment rate in 2021. Underemployed persons are employed persons who expressed a desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work.
Visible underemployment rate or the proportion of those persons working less than 40 hours in a week and expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer working hours, to the total employed, was estimated at 9.8 percent in December 2021, lower than the 11.5 percent in November of the same year.
On the other hand, invisibly underemployed or those working at least 40 hours in a week but still expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer working hours, was estimated at 4.9 percent of the total employed individuals in December 2021. This was lower than the 5.2 percent estimate in November 2021.
By sector, the services sector consistently had the largest share contributing 46.7 percent of the 6.81 million total underemployed persons. The agriculture sector had the second largest share with 33.3 percent while the industry sector contributed 19.9 percent share of the total underemployed persons in December 2021.
The average weekly hours worked of an employed person in December 2021 was 39.7 hours per week. In November 2021, it was lower at 39.6 hours per week.
The labor force participation rate among men in December 2021 was higher at 76.1 percent than among women at 54.0 percent. Similarly, the employment rate for men was higher at 93.7 percent than among women at 93.0 percent for the same period. Furthermore, men had a higher underemployment rate at 16.7 percent than women at 11.9 percent.
By broad industry group, the services sector consistently remained the dominant employment hub absorbing 26.21 million employed persons (56.6 percent) in December 2021. The agriculture and the industry sectors employed 11.83 million (25.6 percent), and 8.24 million (17.8 percent), respectively.
On a month-on-month change, from November 2021 to December 2021, the top five sub-sectors with increase in employed persons were Agriculture and forestry (1.07 million); Manufacturing (325,000); Human health and social work activities (165,000); Transportation and storage (146,000); and Administrative and support service activities (127,000).
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) expressed confidence that employment will increase in the coming months after a survey reported an increase in unemployment in December last year.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III issued the statement after the PSA reported that the unemployment rate in the country slightly increased to 6.6 percent or 3.27 million Filipinos in December 2021.
“On the positive note, the country’s employment level significantly increased by 797,000 compared to the previous month, from 45.477 million in November 2021 to 46.274 million in December 2021. This brings the employment rate to 93.4 percent, and unemployment rate to 6.6 percent,” Bello said in a statement.
The DOLE said that while there is a slight increase in the unemployment rate on a month-on-month basis, the full year employment indicators are way better in 2021 with employment rate at 92.2 percent and unemployment rate at 7.8 percent, in contrast to the 2020 employment rate of 89.6 percent and unemployment rate of 10.4 percent. The same holds true for the underemployment level which improved from 16.4 percent in 2020 to 15.9 percent in 2021.