MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines recorded a total of 1.66 million unemployed Filipinos in December 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

This number, however, is lower compared to the 1.83 million unemployed Filipinos in November 2023 and 1.97 million in October 2024.

In November 2024, the country’s employment rate was 96.8 percent, slightly higher than 96.4 percent in November 2023 and 96.1 percent in October 2024.

In terms of actual numbers, there were 49.54 million employed people in November 2024. This was slightly lower than the 49.64 million recorded in November 2023 but higher than the 48.16 million in October 2024.

On average, employed individuals worked 41.1 hours per week in November 2024. This was slightly higher than the 40.2 hours in November 2023 and 41.0 hours in October 2024.

The underemployment rate dropped to 10.8 percent in November 2024, down from 11.7 percent in November 2023 and 12.6 percent in October 2024. 

In numbers, about 5.35 million out of the 49.54 million employed people in November 2024 wanted to work more hours in their current job, find an additional job, or get a new job with longer hours. 

The PSA defines underemployment as people who have jobs but want extra work or more hours. A high underemployment rate often shows that available jobs are of low quality.

According to National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, the decline in underemployment indicates that there is a “better job quality.”

“Our labor market remains robust, with consistently high employment rates and reduced underemployment. The next step is to expand business and employment opportunities to enable more Filipinos to actively and productively contribute to the economy,” Balisacan said.

”We will encourage business upgrading and skills training programs to ensure that these jobs offer competitive wages as our workers raise their productivity by developing their human capital,” he said.