A recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed that approximately 9.6 million adult Filipinos were unemployed in December 2022.
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This represents 21.3 percent of the adult labor force, a figure that has barely changed from 18.6 percent in October 2022 and 20.8 percent in June 2022.
However, it is lower than the 26 percent recorded in April 2022.
The SWS report also states that the labor force participation rate is 62.6 percent, equivalent to an estimated 45.2 million people.
SWS explained that individuals who are jobless may have voluntarily left their previous jobs, be actively seeking employment for the first time, or have lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control.
The survey found that adult joblessness is highest in Metro Manila at 24.8 percent, followed by Balance Luzon at 23.1 percent, Visayas at 18.6 percent, and Mindanao at 18.1 percent.
This data indicates that unemployment remains a major concern across the country, with the pandemic’s impact continuing to affect job availability and security.
