FINANCE Secretary Ralph G. Recto has highlighted the continued strength of the Philippine labor market which posted an unemployment rate of 3.2% in November 2024, the second lowest since the recorded 3.1% in December 2023 and June 2024.
The year-to-date average unemployment rate of 3.9% is well below the Philippine Development Plan’s 2024 full-year target range of 4.4% to 4.7%.
With this, the total number of employed Filipinos as of November 2024 stands at 49.5 million, higher than 48.2 million in October 2024. This translated to an additional 1.4 million new jobs for the month.
In November 2024, the underemployment rate also fell to 10.8% from 11.7% in November 2023 and 12.6% in October 2024. This translated to an average underemployment rate of 12.0% from January to November 2024, the lowest level recorded.
The services sector continued to be the leading employment generator with a share of 62.1% of total employment in November 2024.
The manufacturing sector was the biggest employment driver for the month, adding 784,000 more workers to the labor force compared to the previous year.
Wage and salary workers also continued to make up the largest share of employed persons in the country at 63.8% in November 2024, indicating the continued expansion of the middle class as more and more Filipinos are engaged in formal and stable jobs.
