The national Social Weather Survey of June 23-26, 2021, found adult joblessness at 27.6% of the adult labor force.
This is 1.8 points above the 25.8% in May 2021 and 10.1 points above the pre-pandemic level of 17.5% in December 2019.
The estimated numbers of jobless are 13.5 million in June 2021 and 12.2 million in May 2021.
SWS defines the Labor Force as adults (18 years and above) presently with a job plus those looking for a job. The Labor Force Participation Rate is the proportion of adults in the labor force.
The June 2021 survey found the Labor Force Participation Rate at 69.1%, or an estimated 48.9 million. It was 67.0%, or an estimated 47.5 million, in May 2021.
The jobless consist of those who (a) voluntarily left their old jobs, (b) are seeking jobs for the first time, or (c) lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control.
Joblessness reached a catastrophic level of 45.5% in July 2020. It eased to 39.5% in September 2020, 27.3% in November 2020, and 25.8% in May 2021 before rising to 27.6% in June 2021.
The average joblessness rate for 2020 was a record-high 37.4%, surpassing the previous record average of 28.8% in 2012. The 2019 average was 19.8%.
Joblessness rises in Metro Manila and Balance Luzon, falls in the Visayas and Mindanao
The 1.8-point rise in the national joblessness rate was due to increases of 10 points in Metro Manila and 7 points in Balance Luzon, combined with decreases of 8 points in the Visayas and 4 points in Mindanao.
Joblessness rose in Metro Manila from 30.8% in May 2021 to 40.9% in June 2021.
It also rose in Balance Luzon, from 24.2% in May 2021 to 30.9% in June 2021.
However, it fell in the Visayas, from 28.7% in May 2021 to 21.3% in June 2021.
It also fell in Mindanao, from 23.0% in May 2021 to 19.2% in June 2021.
Joblessness rises among women
Joblessness rose among women, from 29.0% in May 2021 to 38.3% in June 2021.
However, it fell among men, from 23.6% in May 2021 to 19.8% in June 2021.
This brings the women-men joblessness gap to 18 points, up from 5 points in May 2021.
Joblessness falls but stays highest among the 18-24-year-olds
Joblessness fell among the 18-to-24-year-olds, from 55.5% in May 2021 to 49.3% in June 2021 [Chart 4, Table 4].
It rose among the 25-to-34-year-olds, from 24.6% in May 2021 to 31.0% in June 2021.
It fell slightly among the 35-to-44-year-olds, from 25.6% in May 2021 to 23.8% in June 2021.
It rose among those 45 years old and above, from 18.2% in May 2021.
As in past surveys, the joblessness rate remains highest among the 18-24-year-olds among all age groups.
Joblessness rises slightly in both urban and rural areas
Joblessness rose slightly in urban areas, from 28.0% in May 2021 to 30.7% in June 2021.
It also rose slightly in rural areas, from 23.3% in May 2021 to 25.3% in June 2021.
Joblessness hardly varies by locale, with the urban-rural joblessness gap reaching double-digit in only 9 out of 110 surveys since September 1993.
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