Employers in the Philippines hired more workers while fewer people looked for additional working hours last July, Philippine Statistics Authority data showed on Friday.

In a press briefing, the PSA said the number of jobless Filipinos reached 2.21 million in August, a decline from the 2.27 million unemployed last July.

The data translated to an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent in August from 4.8 percent last July.

The PSA said 5.63 million Filipinos were looking for more work hours to increase their income in August, lower than the 7.10 million underemployed persons in July.

The underemployment rate fell from 15.9 percent in July 2022 and 14.7 percent in August 2022 to 11.7 percent.

Underemployed individuals are those who have indicated a wish for more work hours in their current job, a desire to take on a second job, or an interest in finding a new job that offers longer working hours.

The rise in the number of people with and without jobs can be attributed to the month-on-month increase in labor force participation.

In July, the labor force participation rate increased from 46.90 million to 64.7 percent, up from 60.1 percent in the previous month.

"Many people entered the labor force, so unemployment decreased," National Statistician Dennis Claire Mapa said in a press briefing.

PSA data showed the majority of employed individuals, 62.6 percent, are wage and salary workers. On the other hand, self-employed individuals make up 27.3 percent, and unpaid family workers constitute 8.0 percent of the employed population.

The state-run statistics bureau attributed the surge in employment to specific sectors: fishing and aquaculture with 572,000 new jobs; construction with 534,000; agriculture and forestry with 378,000; human health and social work activities with 153,000, and administrative and support service activities with 143,000.

In a separate statement, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the government will continue to ramp up efforts to boost economic growth and quality job creation amid the economic headwinds.

"To raise the quality of employment further, the Marcos administration is committed to exerting all efforts to shape an attractive business climate for investors with the resources needed to bring in high quality and high paying jobs," Balisacan said.