The country's unemployment dropped to its second lowest level in June after almost 20 years amid rising underemployed Filipinos whose number now breached the 6 million mark.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed on Wednesday that the country's unemployment rate eased to 3.1 percent in June 2024, lower than the 4.1 percent rate recorded in May 2024 and 4.5 percent rate in June 2023.

The figure translated to 1.62 million unemployed Filipinos as of June 2024, lower than the 2.11 million jobless Pinoys in May 2024 and 2.33 million jobless Filipinos in June 2023.

The PSA also noted that the June figure is the second lowest unemployment rate since April 2005, nearly matched the December 2023 figure at 3.07 percent or 1.60 million unemployed Pinoys.

In a press conference on Wednesday morning, the PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said more workers joined the labor force, or those Filipinos 15 years old and over who are either employed or unemployed.

In June, the labor force consisted of 51.9 million workers, up from 50.97 million in May and 51.17 million in June of the previous year.

Agriculture and forestry experienced the largest decline year-over-year, losing 916,000 jobs, with over half of these—545,000—linked to rice planting. Mapa attributed this decline to a decrease in crop production, especially rice.

"We can see a significant reduction in the growth of our crops. It is particularly negative for our rice production. We can say that El Niño has had a major impact," Mapa said. 

Employment rate improved

The PSA said the country recorded a 96.9 percent employment rate or 50.52 million employed Filipinos in June 2024, matching the figures in December 2023.

Compared to the previous year, there was an increase in the number of full-time workers (+3.1 million), wage and salaried employees (+2.0 million), and middle-skilled workers (+1.7 million). Conversely, there were fewer part-time workers (-1.5 million) and those in vulnerable employment (-521,000).

Construction was the leading industry for job creation year-on-year, adding 939,000 new positions in June 2024. This increased the number of Filipinos employed in construction to 5.77 million, up from 4.83 million in June 2023.

“Economic activity related to construction substantially increased,” Mapa said, adding that nearly 900,000 of those jobs were related to construction of buildings.

Other significant industries that saw substantial increases in employment year-over-year included wholesale and retail trade, including vehicle and motorcycle repair (+527,000); accommodation and food service activities (+396,000); manufacturing (+353,000); and transportation and storage (+323,000).

Mapa is optimistic about the progress in employment. He notes that many new entrants into the labor force found positions in the private sector, which he regards as offering higher-quality jobs.

“Our expectation is that this will continue. Of course, there are threats, but so far, the numbers that we’re seeing — particularly this June wherein we have a low unemployment rate despite the huge increase in our labor force participation rate — is positive,” Mapa said.

Underemployment rate still a problem

However, underemployment increased to 12.1 percent in June 2024, affecting 6.08 million Filipinos. This is up from 9.9 percent or 4.82 million in May 2024 and slightly higher than 12 percent or 5.87 million in June 2023.

Underemployed individuals are those who, despite being employed, seek either more hours in their current job, an additional job, or a new job with longer working hours.

Mapa noted that in June 2024, there were 1.44 million more people in the labor force compared to the same month the previous year, although not all of them found full employment.

"Since the labor market has expanded, not everyone has secured what we call full-time jobs. Some are working full-time, while others have less than 40 hours or are still seeking additional work," Mapa said in Filipino.

The top three subsectors experiencing the greatest rise in invisible underemployment—where underemployed individuals work at least 40 hours a week—were construction, with 195,000 Filipinos affected; wholesale and retail trade, including vehicle and motorcycle repair, with 167,000; and manufacturing, with 140,000.