MANILA, June 9 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine unemployment rate went down to 6.1 percent in April compared to 6.4 percent a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.
This means that there were 2.59 million Filipinos who were unemployed in April, according to the latest Labor Force Survey.
The regions which recorded the highest unemployment rates were the National Capital Region, Ilocos Region, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon.
"Among the unemployed persons in April 2016, 63.2 percent were males. Of the total unemployed, the age group 15 to 24 years comprised 50.1 percent, while the age group 25 to 34, 28.3 percent," said PSA.
"By educational attainment, 23.1 percent of the unemployed were college graduates, 13.1 percent were college undergraduates, and 31.4 percent were high school graduates," PSA said.
Meanwhile, the number of employed Filipinos registered at 39.9 million, comprising 93.9 percent of the total labor force, in April.
Partly attributed to election-related activities, the April employment rate is at the high-end range of previous April rounds of the LFS since 2011, outgoing Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Emmanuel Esguerra said.
"If the labor market trends are maintained, the Philippine Development Plan target of 6.5-6.7 percent for unemployment rate in 2016 is likely to be achieved," he said.
Underemployment, which refers to those who are working but want more work, is also relatively high at 18.4 percent in April 2016, higher than the 17.0 percent target for 2016. There were approximately 7.3 million underemployed persons, mostly from the agriculture and services sector.
To further improve the employment situation in the country, Esguerra, who is also the National Economic and Development Authority director-general, said the incoming administration needs to create the conditions that will produce more high quality jobs, including easing the country's foreign investment restrictions. Improving the business climate is key given the need for resiliency and adaptability to changes in the labor market.
Esguerra said the country also needs to focus more on income security rather than job security.
