Philippines Unemployment Rate 1994-2016 | Data | Chart | Calendar

Philippines unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 from 5.4 percent in
the September quarter. It was the lowest figure on record, as the number of unemployed declined to
2,040 persons from 2,335 in the previous period while the number of employed went up to 41,664
from 40,974. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate increased to 63.6 percent from a 63.3 in
the preceding three months. Among employed persons, workers in the services sector made up 54.9
percent of the total, followed by those in the agriculture sector (27.9 percent) and industry (17.2
percent). Unemployment Rate in Philippines averaged 8.63 percent from 1994 until 2016, reaching
an all time high of 13.90 percent in the first quarter of 2000 and a record low of 4.70 percent in the
fourth quarter of 2016.

Calendar
2016-06-09
2016-09-09
2016-12-13
2017-03-11
2017-06-09
2017-09-09
Philippines Labour
Unemployment Rate
Employed Persons
Unemployed Persons
Labor Force Participation
Rate
Job Vacancies

GMT

Reference Actual Previous Consensus

02:00 AM
01:00 AM
02:30 AM
01:00 AM
02:00 AM
01:00 AM

Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Q3

6.1%
5.4%
4.7%

Last

Previous Highest

5.8%
6.1%
5.4%
4.7%

Forecast
5.6%
5.9%
5.1%

Lowest Unit

4.70
5.40
13.90
4.70
percent
[+]
41664.00 40974.00 41664.00 18567.00 Thousand [+]
2040.00 2335.00 4989.00 1720.00 Thousand [+]
63.30

63.60

71.50

62.90

199942.00 199942.00 290741.00 3036.00

percent

[+]
[+]

Calendar

GMT

Reference Actual Previous Consensus

Wages

8280.00

7995.00

8280.00

Wages in Manufacturing

1072.65

1406.07

1519.25

Population
Employment Rate

102.20
94.60

100.50
93.90

102.20
94.60

Forecast

5798.00 PHP/Month [+]

Index
638.86
[+]
Points
26.27
Million
[+]
85.60
percent
[+]

Philippines Unemployment Rate Notes

In Philippines, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively
looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force. This page provides Philippines Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart,
statistics, economic calendar and news. Philippines Unemployment Rate - actual
data, historical chart and calendar of releases - was last updated on December of
2016.

Actual
4.70

Previous
5.40

Highest Lowest
13.90

4.70

Dates
1994 - 2016

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Unit
percent

Frequency
Quarterly

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Transcript of UNEMPLOYMENT IN PHILIPPINES

UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES
Definition:
Employment, or the lack thereof, is one of the macroeconomic problems several countries in
the world now face. It is defined as the situation where people in the labour force people
of legal working age are willing and able to work, but are unable to find employment.
Context (in the Philippines):
High or rising unemployment is a problem that has to be addressed by the government as it
could lead to serious economic, social and political problems for the Philippines. Despite
rapid economic expansion for the past two years, millions remain unemployed, and the
situation is worrying with its continuation.
In the last quarter of 2013, the number of unemployed Filipinos swelled to more than 12
million.
Unemployment rate rose to a 27.5 percent (an estimated number of 12.1 million individuals)
Figure 1 shows the rate of unemployment in Philippines from January 2008 to January 2014,
with figures given at each even year.
The working age population in Philippines consists of 59 million.
The labour force, based on a participation rate of 64% consists of 37.8 million.
35 million are employed and 2.83 million remain unemployed.
An additional 6.6 million (18.9%) are underemployed.
Figure 2 gives an overview over the Philippine Labour Market. As illustrated above,

unemployment/underemployment is a serious problem, with it taking up over 20% of the

working age population.
Problems for the Individual:
Firstly, unemployed individuals are unable to earn enough money to meet financial
obligations.
When this happens, a chain reaction occurs, whereby the individual may suffer a continual
loss of property, or even the ability to afford necessities, therefore reducing him/her to a
state where he/she is unable to sustain a basic lifestyle.
Unemployment also increases an individual's susceptibility to malnutrition, illness, mental
stress, and loss of self-esteem, leading to depression.
In Philippines' Context:
In the case of the Philippines, it is common for those who live in poverty to resort to illegal
methods of earning profit (eg. stealing/trading drugs) leading to an increase in crime rates.
This leads to a cycle of poverty, where both adults and teens are unable to find jobs due to
criminal records.
The increasing rate of poverty means that more children won't be able to complete basic
education.
Since Filipinos tend to have larger families, funding educational needs becomes a burden the
unemployed/underemployed cannot carry.
Problems for the Society
An economy with high unemployment is not using all of the resources, specifically labour,
available to it.
Since it is operating below its production possibility frontier, it could have higher output if all
the workforce were usefully employed.
However, there is a trade-off between economic efficiency and unemployment: if the
frictionally unemployed accepted the first job they were offered, they would be likely to be
operating at below their skill level, reducing the economy's efficiency.
This is because during a long period of unemployment, workers can lose their skills, causing
a loss of human capital. Being unemployed also reduces the life expectancy of workers by
about seven years.
In addition, high unemployment can encourage xenophobia and protectionism as workers
fear that foreigners are stealing their jobs.
Efforts to preserve existing jobs of domestic and native workers include legal barriers
against "outsiders" who want jobs, obstacles to immigration, and/or tariffs and similar trade
barriers against foreign competitors.
As aforementioned in the previous post, it can also cause social problems such as crime; if
people have less disposable income than before, it is very likely that crime levels within the
economy will increase.
In more serious cases, high levels of unemployment can be causes of civil unrest, in some
cases leading to revolution, and particularly totalitarianism.
Problems for the Society:
In Philippines' Context:
Likewise, in the Philippines, there will eventually be growing discomfort with the current
government and their inability to solve such problems, resulting more riots and rallies and
leading to social unrest in Philippines.
This causes the problem to further deteriorate, since it discourages overseas firms from
investing in the country.
Problems: Conclusion

High and persistent unemployment, could cause economic inequality to increase, resulting
in a negative effect on subsequent long-run economic growth possibly leading to poverty
and/or low(er) standards of living.
Unemployment can harm growth not only because it is a waste of resources, but also
because it generates redistributive pressures and subsequent distortions, drives people to
poverty, constrains liquidity limiting labor mobility, and erodes self-esteem promoting social
dislocation, unrest and conflict.
Possible Solutions: Demand-Side
#1: Many countries aid the unemployed through social welfare programs. These
unemployment benefits include unemployment insurance, unemployment compensation,
welfare and subsidies to aid in retraining.
The main goal of these programs is to alleviate short-term hardships and, more importantly,
to allow workers more time to search for a job. A direct demand-side solution to
unemployment is government-funded employment of the able-bodied poor.
#2: According to classical economic theory, markets reach equilibrium where supply equals
demand; everyone who wants to sell at the market price can. Those who do not want to sell
at this price do not; in the labour market this is classical unemployment. Increases in the
demand for labour will move the economy along the demand curve, increasing wages and
employment. The demand for labour in an economy is derived from the demand for goods
and services.
As such, if the demand for goods and services in the economy increases, the demand for
labour will increase, increasing employment and wages. Monetary policy and fiscal policy
can both be used to increase short-term growth in the economy, increasing the demand for
labour and decreasing unemployment.
Possible Solutions: Supply-Side
Advocates of supply-side policies believe policies can solve this by making the labour market
more flexible.
#1: Removing the minimum wage and reducing the power of unions. These reforms can
increase long-term growth. The increased supply of goods and services requires more
workers, thus increasing employment.
#2: Cutting taxes on businesses and reducing regulation can create jobs and reduce
unemployment.
#3: Education to make workers more attractive to employers.
While the demand-side solutions can be put in place until the effects of long-term solutions
take their standing, Philippines has to bear in mind that these solutions are purely shortterm.
The government should instead, also consider structural reforms that will make it conducive
for investors to put money in factories and brick-and-mortar industries.
Economic growth during the past years had been fueled by the service sector, mainly the
business process outsourcing industry.
According to the ADB, the industrial sector, compared with the service sector, has the better
ability to create more job opportunities for the poor and a much higher multiplier effect on
the economy.

In this case, supply-side solutions would be more effective, and I suggest more government
support for the industrial sector through investments in education, skills training and
infrastructure to achieve inclusive economic growth.
Application to the Philippines
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING *v*
Full transcript