Employment rate in PH at 94.8 percent in July 2022

The country’s employment rate continued to pick-up to 94.8 percent in July 2022, from 94.0 percent in the previous month. In terms of level, the number of employed persons in July 2022 was estimated at 47.39 million, from 41.67 million in the same period of 2021. In June 2022, the number of employed persons was recorded at 46.59 million.

The number of unemployed persons declined to 2.60 million in July 2022, from 3.23 million in July 2021. The number of unemployed persons in July 2022 resulted to an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent, which was the lowest reported unemployment rate from January to July 2022 and the lowest of all July rounds since 2005. In June 2022, the number of unemployed persons was estimated at 2.99 million.
The labor force participation rate (LFPR) in July 2022 was placed at 65.2 percent, translating to 49.99 million Filipinos 15 years and older who were either employed or unemployed. Since the start of 2022, the LFPR in July 2022 of 65.2 percent was the second highest rate reported, while the highest was recorded in March 2022 at 65.4 percent. LFPR in July 2021 was posted at 59.4 percent.

Underemployed persons were estimated at 6.54 million in July 2022. This estimate was lower than the 8.77 million reported number of underemployed persons in July 2021, but higher than the 5.89 million estimate in June 2022. Underemployment rate was placed at 13.8 percent in July 2022, from a high rate of 21.0 percent in the same period last year.

Employment rate in PH at 94.8 percent in July 2022

The underemployment rate in July 2022 was, however, higher than the 12.6 percent underemployment rate reported in the previous month. Underemployed persons are employed persons who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work.

Visible underemployment rate or the proportion of employed persons working less than 40 hours in a week was estimated at 9.0 percent in July 2022, lower than the estimated rates in the same month last year at 11.0 percent and in April 2022 at 9.2 percent, but higher than the recorded rate in June 2022 of 8.5 percent.

Among regions, five of the country’s 17 regions registered unemployment rates that were higher than the national estimates of 5.2 percent in July 2022. These were National Capital Region (NCR) (6.9 %), Region IV-A (CALABARZON) (6.3%), Region VI (Western Visayas) (6.0%), Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) (5.6%), and Region X (Northern Mindanao) (5.3%).