More Filipinos employed in November 2021, side hustle seekers remain high

MANILA, Philippines, January 8 ------ The Philippine Statistics Authority reported a dip in the unemployment rate to 6.5% last November, lower than the 7.4% reported in October. This is equivalent to 3.16 million Filipinos with no work in November, from 3.5 million in October.

However, the country’s underemployment rate, which refers to employed people who said they are looking for additional hours of work, hit 16.7% in November from 16.1% in October. This is equivalent to 7.62 million Filipinos, up from 7.04 million.

The latest figures come as prices of goods remain high. In 2021, inflation averaged at 4.5%, which is outside the government’s target band of 2% to 4%. With the labor market producing low-quality jobs while food prices are high, the country’s poverty rate jumped to 23.7% in the first half of 2021, equivalent to 26.1 million Filipinos.

Source: rappler.com