March 2023 labor market performance improves further

The Philippines is seeing continued improvements in the labor market as the unemployment rate further dropped to 4.7 percent in March 2023, down from 5.8 percent in March 2022.

“With labor force participation up and unemployment and underemployment down, more Filipinos are actively joining the labor force and getting jobs. These continued improvements indicate that our economy is poised for continued recovery and growth,” said Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno.

The employment rate improved to 95.3 percent, higher than the 94.2 percent in March 2022.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR) registered at 66.0 percent, higher than the 65.4 percent LFPR in March last year but lower than the 66.6 percent LFPR reported in February 2023.

Meanwhile, underemployment decreased to 11.2 percent, down from the 15.8 percent recorded in the same month last year and 12.9 percent in February. This is the lowest underemployment rate reported since April 2005.

On the other hand, the youth unemployment rate improved to 10.2 percent from 11.3 percent in March last year.

By major sectors, Services remained as the top source of employment, with a 59.0-percent share of the total employed population. This was followed by Agriculture and Industry at 23.5 percent and 17.5 percent, respectively.

The year-on-year (YoY) increase in employment was driven by the Services and Industry sectors. Transportation and storage; Accommodation and food service activities; Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles ; Construction; and Other service activities were the top sub-sectors with the highest YoY increase in employment.

“The government’s drive to attract foreign direct investments, mainly through the economic liberalization laws and efforts to enhance the ease of doing business in the Philippines, are expected to generate jobs and business opportunities in the medium term,” Secretary Diokno said.

The amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, Foreign Investments Act, and Public Service Act opened up the Philippines to more foreign direct investments, which generate more and quality employment opportunities for Filipinos in a wider range of sectors.

“Furthermore, deepening our investments in infrastructure and human capital development will allow us to improve productivity, create more and better quality jobs, and foster a vibrant economy,” Secretary Diokno added.