PHL Employment Rate Increases at 94.7%

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that the number of employed Filipinos increased in January this year.

In a press briefing held March 10 in Alimodian, Iloilo, Secretary Roque said that the employment rate in January 2018 surged to 94.7 percent, which is the highest in all of the previous January rounds of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) since 2009.

“This translates to 41.8 million Filipinos employed,” he said.

He noted that the unemployment rate went down from 6.6 percent in January 2017 to only 5.3 percent in January 2018.

“This is also the lowest rate recorded for all the January rounds of the LFS in 10 years,” he said.

He said that the labor force participation rate also increased to 62.2 percent in January 2018, higher than the 60.7 percent recorded in the same period last year.

“Latest result indicates that due to economic reforms and programs implemented by the government, more Filipinos are encouraged to join and re-join the labor force, resulting in more Filipinos being employed,” he added. (JSC/LTP/PIA6 Iloilo)