Unemployment rate fell to 7.1 percent in March 2021: PSA

Unemployment rate fell to 7.1 percent in March 2021. This is the lowest reported rate covering the period of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic since April 2020.

Unemployment among Filipinos 15 years and over in March 2021 was estimated at 3.44 million, a reduction of about 747 thousand unemployed persons from February 2021.

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Labor force participation rate (LFPR) bounced back to 65.0 percent in March 2021, or a total of 48.77 million Filipinos 15 years old and over who were either employed or unemployed. It was the highest LFPR since April 2014.

Employment rate rose to 92.9 percent in March 2021, from 91.2 percent in February 2021. This translates to a month-on-month increase of about 2.18 million Filipinos who had job or business, from 43.15 million in February 2021 to 45.33 million Filipinos in March 2021.

Underemployment rate in the country recorded a decline at 16.2 percent in March 2021, a change of -2.0 percentage points from 18.2 percent in February 2021. In terms of magnitude, about 7.34 million of the employed persons expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work in March 2021.

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Also read: Unemployment in PH rose to 4.2M as of February – PSA

Unemployment rate fell to 7.1 percent in March 2021: PSA

Of the 16.2 percent underemployment rate, 10.9 percentage points were visibly underemployed or employed persons who worked less than 40 hours in a week and wanted additional hours of work. On the other hand, 5.3 percentage points were invisibly underemployed or employed persons who worked more than 40 hours in a week and wanted additional hours of work.

By broad industry group, underemployed persons were highest in the services sector, accounting for 44.3 percent of the 7.34 million total underemployed persons in March 2021. Underemployed persons in the agriculture sector accounted for 37.2 percent, while in the industry sector, 18.5 percent. The underemployment rate in the industry sector steadily decreased since January this year, while those in the agriculture and services sectors were erratic in the past three months

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Average weekly hours of work of an employed person improved in March 2021 at 39.7 hours compared to the 38.9 hours and 39.3 hours reported in February 2021 and January 2021, respectively.

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