The unemployment rate declined to 4.5 percent from 5.1 percent last year, translating to 153,000 less individuals with no jobs–the lowest rate for all October rounds of the survey since 2009.

Jobhunters flock to a job fair being held at mall. Many of these applicants were apparently successful in seeking employment.

The country’s unemployment rate in the Philippines dipped to its lowest in more than a decade, with more Filipinos securing jobs across the agriculture, industry and services sectors as of October.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday said data from its October 2019 Labor Force Survey (LFS) yielded 95.5 percent employment rate in the month from 94.9 percent in the same month in 2018, equivalent to 43.15 million Filipinos with jobs in October compared to 41.33 million last year.

This is as the unemployment rate declined to 4.5 percent from 5.1 percent last year, translating to 153,000 less individuals with no jobs — the lowest rate for all October rounds of the survey since 2009.

Meanwhile, underemployment rate, or the rate of people with jobs still seeking different or more work, also receded to 13 percent from 13.3 percent in October last year.

Labor force participation rate also improved to 61.5 percent, driven by a rebound in the participation rate in women, after declining for four years.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) undersecretary for regional development and officer-in-charge Adoracion Navarro said that while the survey results painted a vibrant labor market, the government “must still continue to fast-track the implementation of programs and policies that help create quality employment and improve productivity.”

Individuals engaged in the services sector were the largest of the employed population at 57.7 percent, followed by the agriculture sector at 23.5 percent and the industry sector at 18.9 percent.

Meanwhile, Navarro also said the government should enhance flagship programs for the youth as underutilized youth–or those not in employment, education or training–stands at 3.4 million as of October, albeit smaller than 3.7 million population last year.

The government is aiming to drop the domestic unemployment rate to 5.1 percent for full-year 2019, within the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 target range of 4.7 percent to 5.3 percent.

NEDA also said the annual target for employment generation of 900,000 to 1.1 million has been breached with an average of 1.3 million this year, but the government will still have to fast-track efforts to meet other goals in the seven employment-related targets under the PDP.