Jobless Filipinos decline to 2.77 million in August

The number of unemployed Filipinos declined in August, as the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.3 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The latest figure translates to around 2.77 million unemployed Filipinos, down from 3.14 million in July, when the unemployment rate stood at 6 percent.

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Meanwhile, the underemployment rate also eased to 11.9 percent, representing approximately 5.9 million employed Filipinos who were looking for additional work or more hours of employment.

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This is lower than the 12.9 percent underemployment rate recorded in July, equivalent to around 6.33 million underemployed Filipinos.

The country’s employment rate rose to 94.7 percent in August, with approximately 49.79 million Filipinos employed or engaged in a livelihood.