According to the latest Labor Force Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the unemployment rate in the Philippines improved to 4.2% in November 2022, compared to 4.5% in October 2022 and 6.5% in November 2021.
National Statistician Dennis Mapa attributes the decrease to the yearly increase in economic activity during the fourth quarter, particularly due to the holiday season.
The number of Filipinos who were actively seeking employment but unable to find it fell by approximately 65,000 to 2.18 million in November, compared to 2.24 million in October.
The labor force participation rate, or the percentage of working age Filipinos who are employed or available for employment, also returned to pre-pandemic levels at 67.5% in November, compared to 64.2% in the previous month and a year earlier.
The industries that provided the most new jobs were wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, accommodation and food services, agriculture and forestry, and public administration and defense.
Meanwhile, the industries that experienced the most job losses were construction, fishing and aquaculture, transportation and storage, administrative and support services, and mining and quarrying.
