THE Philippines’ unemployment rate decreased further in October, reaching an 18-year low of 4.2%, government data showed Thursday. 

It was the lowest rate since April 2005, when the Philippine Statistics Authority adopted a new definition for unemployed, which includes all persons who are 15 years old and over as of their last birthday and are reported as without work, currently available for work, and seeking work or not seeking work due to valid reasons.

Month-on-month, there were 2.09 million unemployed Filipinos in October, down from 2.26 million in September (4.5%).

The number of underemployed persons was 5.6 million out of the total 47.8 million employed individuals in October, translating to an underemployment rate of 11.7%, an improvement from the 14.2% recorded in the same month last year. 

”Underemployed persons are those who express 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,” the PSA said.

Services continued as the top sector in terms of the number of employed persons, with a share of 60.1%, followed by agriculture (22.2%) and industry (17.8%).

An employed person worked an average of 41.2 hours per week in October 2023, higher than the 40.2 hours per week in October 2022. 

“We can make the labor market more inclusive with the entry of more investments, especially those that bring in new and better technology. At the same time, we need to expand and enhance learning opportunities to ensure that we equip Filipinos for future jobs,” National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.