The unemployment rate in the Philippines in September 2021 stood at 8.9%, up from 8.1% the previous month, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. This unemployment rate was the highest since January 2021.

The unemployment rate in September 2021 was also higher than the rates in April 2021 (8.7%), May and June 2021 (7.7%), and in July 2021 (6.9%).

The total number of unemployed persons in September 2021 was estimated at 4.25 million.

Meanwhile, the employment rate in September 2021 dropped to 91.1% from the 91.9% in August 2021.

Employed persons who worked for 40 hours and more were reported at 63.6% of the 43.59 million total employed, 34.9% worked for less than 40 hours and those reported with job but not at work were accounted at 1.5% in September 2021. 

By broad industry group, the services sector consistently remained as the dominant employment hub absorbing 57.8% of the total employed population in September 2021. The agriculture and the industry sectors contributed 23.5% and 18.7%, respectively.

The average weekly hours worked by an employed person in September 2021 was reported at 40.2 hours per week. This was higher than the average weekly hours worked reported in August 2021 at 39.6 hours

The labour force participation rate in September 2021 fell to 63.3% from the previous month’s rate of 63.6%. The drop in the rate is equivalent to a magnitude of about 269,000 Filipinos 15 years old and over who were either employed or unemployed.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua told The Rappler, “These results were expected as many parts of the country remained under stringent and blanket quarantines for most of the survey period.” Chua added that bad weather conditions also contributed to the higher unemployment rate. Approximately 862,000 jobs in agriculture and forestry were lost in September, the highest among industries.