A surge in joblessness emerged in October as more Filipinos exited the labor market, according to figures released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday.
The country registered 2.54 million unemployed workers, a sharp rise from 1.96 million in September. The latest total pushed the national unemployment rate to 5 percent, approaching the post-pandemic peak reached in July when 5.3 percent of the labor force, or 2.59 million individuals, were without work.
The PSA noted that fewer people were actively seeking or holding jobs during the month. Labor force participation declined to 63.8 percent from 64.5 percent a month earlier, placing the size of the labor force at 51.16 million. In the same period, those with employment slipped to 48.62 million, resulting in a lower employment rate of 95 percent compared with 96.2 percent recorded in September.
Most working Filipinos remained in services, which represented 60.6 percent of total employment. Agriculture made up 21.5 percent, while industry accounted for 17.9 percent.
