Unemployment Rate Slightly up Despite Holidays Last December

Last December, the number of jobless Filipinos increased despite the quality of available jobs improving during the holiday season.

In December 2022, there were over 2.22 million Filipinos that were out of business or unemployed in December. This is higher than the previous month’s figure of 2.18 million according to the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

This would mean an unemployment rate of 4.3% in December 2022. This is an increase from 4.2% in November 2022.

The increase in unemployment came despite the holiday season bringing a tick in consumer demand. National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa has mentioned that this slight jump in the unemployment figures is not statistically significant.

“The heightened activities during the season actually started last November, resulting in the dramatic reduction of joblessness that month,” mentioned Leonardo Lanzona, a labor economist at Ateneo De Manila University.

“So we saw a lot of extra, temporary jobs. We are now observing and expecting greater unemployment in the coming months with the waning of the holiday season last December and January. This just goes to show that nothing meaningful has happened to ease the plight of the workers,” he added.

Mapa has also stated that the holiday seasons gave stable work for December. However, this does not mean better job quality as the robust demand eventually fades.

The PSA reported that there were over 6.20 million Filipinos that looked for additional income in December, from a previous figure of 7.16 million in November.

Source: Philstar