The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Friday reported a 6.5 percent unemployment rate in November 2021, the third-lowest last year.
The November unemployment rate was almost a percentage point lower than the 7.4 percent reported in October 2021.
The jobless rate was equivalent to 3.16 million Filipinos unemployed in November, from 3.5 million in October, the PSA said.
The PSA said there were more Filipinos who were underemployed or those who sought additional hours of work or to have an additional job. The November 2021 rate was 16.7 percent, which was higher than the October 2021 estimate of 16.1 percent.
Assistance for Alert Level 3-affected workers
The Department of Labor and Employment on Thursday said it was ready to allocate P1 billion for workers affected by Alert Level 3 restrictions.
Eighteen areas in the country, including the economic capital Metro Manila, are under Alert Level 3, which imposes stricter mobility and capacity restrictions.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that 3,284 workers had been displaced nationwide as of Jan. 6 due to Alert Level 3.
More than 330 establishments also went into temporary closure, Bello added.
“In case of worst scenario, we may be compelled to allocate P1 billion for workers who will be affected by this Alert Level 3,” Bello said.
The Philippines has 56,561 active Covid-19 cases as of Jan. 6. John Ezekiel J. Hirro