Jobless Filipinos decreased in fourth quarter of 2019 — SWS

PHOTO FROM SWS

MANILA, Philippines — The number of jobless Filipinos decreased in the fourth quarter of 2019, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results showed Tuesday.

In a survey conducted from Dec. 13 to Dec. 16, the pollster found that the adult joblessness rate declined by four points to 17.5 percent or 7.9 million jobless Filipinos in December 2019 from 21.5 percent or 10 million jobless Filipinos in September 2019.

SWS defined jobless adults as those who “voluntarily left their old jobs, those who are seeking jobs for the first time or those who lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control.”

The latest SWS survey used 1,200 adults aged 18 years old and above nationwide. Of these, 300 each were interviewed in the National Capital Region, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The poll used sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

SWS used this exact question in the survey: “Kayo po ba ay may trabaho sa kasalukuyan, walang trabaho ngayon pero mayroon dati, o hindi pa nagkaroon ng trabaho kahit minsan? (Do you have a job at present, unemployed at present but used to have a job, or never had a job?)”