00:00The month of May this year was a positive period for job generation and more Filipinos
00:04getting the opportunity for paid work. This despite four consecutive weeks of pump price
00:09increases, vegetable prices headed up, and a not-so-tame inflation threatening to break
00:15free as Orion Macigas narrates the improving employment numbers in this report.
00:22The number of Filipinos with paid work continues to rise based on May 2024 data,
00:27based on PSA's latest labor force participation survey, the employment rate reached 95.9% in May
00:34or equivalent to 48.87 million employed Filipinos. This is equivalent to more than half a million
00:41working Filipinos from April to May. The number is way higher by 605,000 than the mark of over
00:4748 million employed in May 2023. This is also higher compared to the 48.36 million recorded
00:54in April 2024. The employment rate in May 2024 was 95.9%. This is higher than the documented
01:03employment rate in May 2023, which was 95.7%. But this is slightly lower compared to the 96.0%
01:12recorded in April 2024. The number of those in the labor force without a job or business
01:18as of May 2024 reached 2.11 million. This is less than the recorded number of unemployed persons
01:25same month last year, which was 2.17 million. The unemployment rate was 4.1% for May 2024.
01:33This is lower compared to the unemployment rate in May 2023, which hit 4.3%.
01:48Very small increase or decrease. So we can say that it is not statistically significant.
01:55But one thing that contributes here is the increase in labor force participation.
02:02Our labor force participation increased. Year on year, it increased by 544,000.
02:10Construction, admin and support service activities, manufacturing, transportation,
02:16and storage, as well as public administration and defense, are the sectors posted optics in the
02:22employment rate. NEDA assured to take steps to maintain the positive momentum of the labor
02:27market by creating more jobs. NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan says that the implementation
02:33of the various flagship programs in the Marcos administration has a big role in reducing the
02:39unemployment rate in the country. At the same time, the Secretary also emphasized adequate
02:44support for farmers and disaster preparedness. This because up to 1.6 million jobs has been lost
02:52to the severe drought and to Typhoon Agaton that recently hit the country.
02:57The tension in the West Philippine Sea also appears to have affected Filipino fishermen.
03:02To build quality work in the midst of rapid change in the working sector,
03:06NEDA is also busy putting the Trabaho para sa Bayan plan to good use. According to Balisacan,
03:12they will continue to consult with workers and employers so that government measures
03:17appropriately respond to various challenges. Meanwhile, the PSA has yet to see if the
03:24upcoming implementation of an additional wage of P35 in the NCR impacts or affects
03:30the employment and underemployment rate in the country.
03:42Ryan Lisigues, from the National TV Network, for a new and better Philippines.
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