THERE were 2.5 million unemployed Filipinos in January 2024, up from 1.6 million in December 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

However, January 2024 saw fewer unemployed people overall than January 2023, when 2.38 million were counted.

”Unemployment rate in January 2024 dropped to 4.5% from 4.8% in the same month of the previous year,” the PSA said.

Calabarzon recorded the highest unemployment rate in January 2024 at 5.9%, while Cagayan Valley and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had the lowest unemployment rates at 2.9% each.

PSA data also shows that the overall labor force participation rate (LFPR) for January 2024 dropped to 61.1% from 64.5% in January 2023, translating to 1.6 million fewer people aged 15 and older being in the labor force.

Most of the contraction was recorded among women (-1.3 million), the youth cohort (-1.0 million), and junior high school graduates (-652,000).  

Among the main reasons cited for not joining the labor force are household duties, age-related restrictions, such as being too young/old or having a permanent disability, and schooling. 

The return to onsite work has limited women’s participation to 49.3% from 53.7% in January 2023, while completely on-site schooling has brought the youth LFPR down to 29.6% from 34.8% in the same period in 2023.

Meanwhile, the underemployment rate stood at 13.9% in January 2024. 

This means about 6.39 million of the 45.94 million employed individuals expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job, to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work.