The country’s unemployment rate increased to 3.9 percent in October from 3.7 percent in September as several typhoons endangered families and destroyed homes and infrastructure, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Friday.

However, PSA’s preliminary data revealed more Filipinos were employed in October this year at 1.97 million from 2.09 million in the same month a year ago.

“Some people, especially women, chose not to work because of the typhoons in October, namely ‘Julian,’ ‘Kristine’ and ‘Leon.’ Fisherfolks were especially cautious because of the storms,” National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis Mapa said.

As a result, year-on-year data showed the fishing and aquaculture sector lost the most workers at 213,000.

Meanwhile, workers for wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles decreased by 212,000.

The agriculture and forestry sector lost 183,000 workers.

“More agricultural workers in November also must have chosen not to work due to the typhoons that month. By December, I hope we’re already cleared of typhoons,” Mapa said.

Fewer workers were employed in October as the employment rate decreased to 96.1 percent from 96.3 in September.

However, based on annual growth, PSA data revealed more Filipinos or 48.16 million had work compared to 47.79 million recorded in the same month a year ago.

Most workers in 3 sectors

The three sectors with the most workers were administrative and support services which employed an additional 247,000 people, accommodation and food services with 215,000 and transportation and storage with 202,000.

“In December, we expect further increases in retail and accommodation as we celebrate Christmas,” Mapa said.

In terms of broad industries, the services industry remained the top employer in October, with a 61 percent share of the total workers. This was followed by the agriculture and industry which accounted for 21.2 percent and 17.9 percent, respectively.

The underemployment rate, which involves those who desire longer work hours or better paying jobs, increased to 12.6 percent from 11.9 percent between September and October and from 11.7 percent in October 2023.

“Full-year headline figures reflect sustained improvement but underscore the need to intensify efforts to create more and better-quality jobs to meet the target set in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) by 2028,” National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

He said the newly enacted Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy Act will generate job opportunities for Filipinos as more businesses take advantage of the law’s cost-efficient features.

These include lower corporate income tax of 20 percent from 25 percent and a deduction on power expenses for manufacturing firms at 100 percent from 50 percent.

Balisacan also said the government has been gaining insights from artificial intelligence experts and partnering with companies to help the information technology-business process outsourcing workers to meet the demands of consumers and multinational firms.

At the same time, he said the government will continue to prioritize spending on major infrastructure to secure expanded operations of foreign companies into the country. The government commits to spend at least 5 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product on infrastructure.

“The Marcos Administration is working tirelessly to fast-track the critical infrastructure projects in key sectors such as connectivity, telecommunications, energy, and water to generate more income opportunities. Additionally, we are prioritizing the upskilling and reskilling of our workforce to equip Filipino workers with the knowledge and capabilities needed in today’s dynamic job market,” Balisacan said.