Unemployment Rate Down to 5% in September

More Filipinos reported having jobs in September despite the increasing cost of operation of businesses due to the inflation rate as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported a decrease in the unemployment rate in the country.

The PSA released its latest Labor Force Survey, reporting a total of 2.5 million Filipinos who were unemployed in September, lower than that of the reported unemployed number of 2.68 million in August.

This translates to a decrease of three percent in the unemployment rate of the country.

Meanwhile, the PSA also said that more Filipinos were also underemployed in September compared to August, as the statistics department of the government reported 7.33 million underemployed individuals in September, higher than the 7.03 million recorded number in August.

The numbers equate to a 7 percent increase month-on-month, from 14.7 percent in August to 15.4 percent in September.

This comes as Filipinos try to tackle the rising inflation rate and cost of living in the country by taking on a second job to increase their monthly income.

The surging inflation rate of the country has been a thorn in the flesh for the Marcos administration, as the value of the Philippine peso dropped in the beginning months of the new government, with the impact of typhoons adding to the increasing inflation rate of the country.

In October, the inflation rate of the country surged to a 14-year high of 7.7 percent, which is a 14-yeah high and just short of the 7.8 percent recorded in December 2008 during the global financial crisis. (GFB)