The country’s unemployment rate declined to 3.7 percent in September from 4 percent in August, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.

There were fewer jobless Filipinos at 1.89 million from 2.07 million between the two months. Compared to September 2023, the jobless rate dropped from 4.5 percent.

The employment rate also increased to 96.3 percent from 96 percent, reflecting a total of 49.87 million workers which was an increase from 49.15 million month-on-month.

Specifically, the youth employment rate among those aged at least 15 increased to 90 percent from 88 percent.

PSA data showed more Filipinos sought jobs in September, resulting in a higher labor participation rate of 65.7 percent from 64.8 percent recorded in the previous month.

The services sector employed the most people, with 31.3 million workers, and accounted for 62.8 percent of the total workers.

Specifically, the administrative and support services sector emerged as the top employer for the month, with an additional 642,000 workers. This was followed by manufacturing with 357,000 more workers, and agriculture and forestry with 294,000 new workers.