The Philippines’ unemployment rate decreased to 4.4% in August 2023 from 5.3% in the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

In the previous month, the unemployment rate was posted at 4.8%.

In terms of magnitude, the Authority noted there were 2.21 million unemployed Filipinos aged 15 years and over in August 2023.

Meanwhile, the number of employed persons aged 15 years and over in August 2023 increased to 48.07 million from 47.87 million in August 2022. This translates to a 95.6% employment rate, higher than the reported employment rate in August 2022 and July 2023 at 94.7% and 95.2%, respectively.

By broad industry group, the services sector remained as the top sector in terms of the number of employed persons with a share of 3% to the total employed persons in August 2023. The agriculture and the industry sectors accounted for 24.5% and 18.2%, respectively. 

At the same time, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in August 2023 was posted at 64.7%. This was lower than the 66.1% reported rate in August 2022, but higher than the 60.1% rate in July 2023.

The average weekly hours worked of an employed person in August 2023 was 40.8 hours. This was higher than the average weekly hours worked in August 2022 (40.5 hours), but lower than the average weekly hours worked in July 2023 (42.3 hours).