The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the number of unemployed or jobless Filipinos stood at 3.13 million or a rate of 6.4%.
The figure is higher compared to the 2.93 million jobless individuals recorded in January.
This is slightly lower compared to the peak of unemployment rate at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic which is around 17.6% in April 2020 or 7.3 million jobless.
The PSA said that while the easing of restrictions in February encouraged more Filipinos to look for a job, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they got one.
“We can surmise that the opening of the economy, the easing of restrictions encouraged ang ating mga kababayan na maghanap ng trabaho. Marami ang naghahanap ng trabaho pero hindi sila nakakuha ng trabaho na gusto nila,” PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa said.
The PSA said that this might be due to lower opportunities despite the easing of restrictions since under Alert Level 2. Some establishments are allowed to operate at limited capacities.
