Marcos vows sustained job creation as unemployment drops

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos assured the public that his administration would sustain measures that create jobs, lure investments and upgrade the skills of workers after the Philippines recorded a drop in unemployment rate last month.

According to the December 2023 Labor Force Survey released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the unemployment rate in the country went down to 3.1 percent from 4.3 percent in December 2022 and 3.6 percent in November 2023.

About 1.6 million people were jobless in December, lower than the 2.22 million recorded in the same month in 2022 and 1.83 million in November 2023.

The Philippines’ employment rate rose to 96.9 percent last month from 95.7 percent in December 2022 and 96.4 percent in November 2023, the PSA reported.

The number of employed persons reached 50.52 million in December 2023, higher than the 49 million and the 49.64 million posted in December 2022 and November 2023, respectively.

Last month’s labor force participation rate hit 66.6 percent, higher than the 66.4 percent posted in the same month two years ago and the 65.9 percent recorded last November.

The underemployment rate was at 11.9 percent in December, down from 12.6 percent in the same period in 2022 but higher than the 11.7 percent recorded in November 2023.

In an X post, Marcos said he was “pleased” to see what he described as the “significant progress and resilience” in the Philippine labor market.

He claimed that the higher labor force participation rate indicated a “growing confidence” in the economy.

The higher employment rate means more opportunities for the workforce while the lower underemployment rate indicated an “improvement” in job quality and stability, the President added.

“This positive momentum is attributed to robust growth across all major industry groups, with construction, agriculture and services leading the way,” Marcos said.

Marcos vowed to continue efforts to attract investments, generate jobs and promote economic activity, citing policies and programs like the Public-Private Partnership Code and the 4PH Housing Program.

He said his administration would also pursue up-skilling and re-skilling initiatives and promote