Western Visayas’ employment rate slightly dipped to 96.0 percent in April 2024 from 96.5 percent in January 2024, but climbed from 95.7 percent in the same month last year.
This, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-6), translates to 3.406 million employed persons in April this year, higher by 19,000 from January 2024, but lower by 108 thousand compared to the figure in April 2023.
PSA-6 Senior Statistical Specialist Arleen Bagoning explained that the employment rate and the number of employed persons varies with the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) and is not directly proportional.
LFPR in April 2024 was 62.4 percent, accounting for 3.547 million of the 5.685 million persons who were 15 years old and over.
It went up by 0.5 percentage point compared to 61.9 percent in January 2024, but lower by 3.3 percentage points from 65.7 percent in April 2023.
“In terms of number, the persons who were in the labor force reached 3.547 million in April 2024, lower by 125,000 compared to 3.672 million in April 2023, but higher by 37,000 than 3.510 million in January 2024,” PSA-6 said.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.0 percent in April 2024 from 3.5 percent in January 2024, but declined by 0.3 percentage point compared to 4.3 percent in April 2023.
An estimated 142,000 persons were unemployed in April 2024, higher compared to 123, 000 in January 2024, but lower compared to 157, 000 in the same month last year.
The underemployment rate, on the other hand, went down to 12.8 percent in April 2024 from 13.0 percent in January 2024, but higher compared to 12.5 percent in April last year.
There were 454,000 underemployed persons, or those wanting to have additional hours of work or an additional job, in April this year, lower compared to January 2024’s 456,000 and April 2023’s 459,000.IMT
