More jobless workers in Metro–NSO

Metro Manila may be known for its bustling industries but the National Statistics Office (NSO) said it also has the highest unemployment rate among the country’s regional groupings.

Based on the July Labor Force Survey the NSO released this week, Metro Manila, or the National Capital Region, only has a 89.1 percent employment rate.

In contrast, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which is made up of the strife-torn provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, has a 96.3 percent employment rate.

Topping the list of regions with the highest employment rate was Cagayan Valley, with 97.6 percent.

The Zamboanga Peninsula, or Western Mindanao, came in second with a 96.7-percent employment rate while Mimaropa [Marinduque, Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Palawan) posted a 96.2-percent employment rate.

Nationwide, the NSO said the employment rate was pegged at 92.9 percent, down one percent from last year’s 93 percent. This translated to 37.1 million employed Filipinos as of July.

The services sector remained the country’s main employer, accounting for 52.2 percent of the total number of employed Filipinos.

“Of the total employed population, 32.6 percent are laborers and unskilled workers, the biggest so far among the various occupation groups,” the NSO said.

More than half of the total employed persons in July 2011 were wage and salary workers, the majority of whom work for private establishments.

“Those working for the government or government-controlled corporations accounted for only 8.3 percent of the total employed, while workers in private households were marked at 5.3 percent,” the NSO said.

It also noted that the number of self-employed workers constituted 29.5 percent of the total number of employed Filipinos.

Meanwhile, the number of unemployed persons in July 2011 was estimated at 2.8 million, or an unemployment rate of 7.1 percent compared with last year’s seven percent, the NSO added.

Of this number, males were the majority at 62.6 percent, while females were pegged at 37.4 percent.—Judy Quiros, Inquirer Mindanao