MANILA, Philippines — A total of 4.2 million Filipinos were left jobless in February 2021 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the economy, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday.
This is a 0.2 million increase compared to the PSA’s January 2021 record of four million Filipinos left jobless—making the Philippines’ unemployment rate at a 16-year high—national statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said in a press conference.
“Ang unemployment rate ay naitala sa 8.8 percent o 88 sa bawat 1,000 indibidwal na nasa labor force ang walang trabaho o negosyo nitong 2021,” Mapa said as he shared results of the February 201 Labor Force Survey (LFS).
(The unemployment rate was recorded at an 8.8 percent, or 88 out of 1,000 individuals in the labor force that do not have jobs or businesses in 2021.)
The 8.8 percent unemployment rate was an increase of January 2021’ record of 8.7 percent.
Despite the rise in joblessness among Filipinos, Mapa added that the country too saw a rise in employment.
In February 2021, the PSA recorded that there are 43.2 million Filipinos employed, which was a 1.9 million increase compared to 41.2 million back in January 2021.
And underemployment among Filipinos ballooned from 6.6 million in January 2021 to 7.9 million in February 2021—which is a 1.3 million increase.
According to Mapa, the February 2021 LFS is the first data under the PSA’s new monthly survey, as this will help the government craft policies.
“Simula nitong Pebrero 2021, ang buwanang labor force survey ay isasagawa sa pagitan ng quarterly or regular labor force survey upang magkaroon ng high frequency data on labor and employment bilang isa sa mga basehan ng polisiya at pagpaplano,” he said.
(Starting this February 2021, the monthly labor force survey will be conducted between the quarterly or regular labor force survey to have a high-frequency data on labor and employment, which will be one of the basis for policy-making and planning.)
“Ang Pebrero 2021 labor force survey ay makapagbibigay ng reliable estimates sa national lebel lamang. Samantala ang Enero 2021 ay makakapagbigay ng reliable estimates sa national at regional levels,” Mapa further explained.
(The February 2021 labor force survey will give reliable estimates in the national level. Meanwhile, the previous January 2021 survey gave reliable estimates at the national and regional levels.)
This comes days after that Malacañang announced that Metro Manila—known to be country’s political and economic hub—and its four adjacent provinces of Cavite, Bulacan, Laguna and Rizal were placed under a one-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
During the ECQ period, only select sectors of the industry are allowed to operate at full capacity, while other sectors will have a skeletal workforce.