AROUND 12.2 million adult Filipinos were jobless in the first quarter, Social Weather Stations (SWS) estimated, citing projections made from one of its surveys.
In a statement Thursday, SWS said adult joblessness fell by 1.5 percentage points to 25.8% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. This latest level is still much higher than the pre-pandemic level of 17.5% from December 2019.
The estimated number of jobless adults was 12.2 million, against 12.7 million in its Fourth Quarter Survey conducted in November 2020.
“The jobless consist of those who (a) voluntarily left their old jobs, (b) are seeking jobs for the first time, or (c) lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control,” it said.
The survey was conducted on 1,200 adults between April 28 and May 2, according to SWS. The sampling error margins for national percentages was at ±3% and ±6% for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
The survey also found that the labor force participation rate, or the proportion of adults in the labor force, is at 67% or an estimated 47.5 million. This was up from 66.7% or about 46.3 million in the fourth quarter survey.
The 1.5-point decline in joblessness was driven by decreases of 7 points in Metro Manila and 9 points in the rest of Luzon. However, this was offset by a 10-point increase in the Visayas, and a six-point increase in Mindanao.
Joblessness in the rest of Luzon fell to 24.2% from 32.7%; in Metro Manila, it declined to 30.8% from 37.8%.
It rose to 28.7% from 19.1% in the Visayas and increased to 23% from 17% in Mindanao.
The joblessness rate fell among 25- to 24-year-olds to 24.6% from 33.6% and among 18- to 24-year-olds to 55.5% from 57.2%.
It was little changed for those 45 years and above to 18.2% from 18% and also rose slightly in the 35- to 44-year cohort to 25.6% from 23.9%.
The joblessness rate among men increased to 23.6% from 22.2% and fell among women to 29% from 34.1%. The five-point gap between women and men is the lowest since 2004, when the joblessness gap was only three points.
In rural areas, the rate fell to 23.3% from 24.9%. It also declined in urban areas to 28% from 29.8%.
By educational attainment, the joblessness rate fell among non-elementary graduates to 11.7% from 16.4%, and among elementary graduates to 21.6% from 24.2%.
The rate was little changed among junior high school graduates at 30% from 30.8% and among college graduates at 29.7% to 30%.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that unemployment rate in April rose to 8.7% or 4.138 million Filipinos from 7.1% or 3.441 million in March due to the imposition of another lockdown because of the surge in infections. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas