THE number of unemployed Filipinos fell to 2.5 million in September from 2.68 million in August, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Tuesday.

This put the September unemployment rate at 5 percent, which is lower than the 5.3 percent in August and the 8.9 percent in September of the previous year. 

PSA chief and National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the country’s employment rate was estimated at 95 percent, the highest recorded since January 2020.

However, the number of employed persons in September stood at 47.58 million, which is lower than the 47.87 million employed persons in August. This was because some workers went back to school.

Out of the employed Filipinos, 7.33 million are considered underemployed or persons who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their current job, an additional job, or a new job with longer hours of work. 

The services sector had the largest number of workers, followed by agriculture and industry. 

Photo credit: Department of Labor and Employment