Unemployment rate in Philippines hits 8.7 pct in April

MANILA, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Around 4.14 million Filipinos were out of work in April, bringing the unemployment rate up to 8.7 percent in the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.

Residents wearing face masks and shields queue up to receive a dose of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine inside a Catholic church turned into a vaccination center in Manila on May 21, 2021. (Photo: AFP)

The performance "was substantially lower than the record high 17.6 percent in April 2020 but higher compared to the 7.1 percent reported in March 2021," PSA Head Dennis Mapa said in an online briefing.

The total number of unemployed individuals above 15 years old was registered at 4.14 million in April, lower by 3.09 million from the record in April 2020, Mapa added.

Mapa said the employment rate in the country posted a month-on-month decline in April when the government reimposed stringent lockdown measures in Metro Manila and nearby areas because of surging COVID-19 cases.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said the impact of the lockdown measures on unemployment is more pronounced in regions with stricter quarantine measures, further highlighting the sensitivity of the labor market to the quarantine level.

The Philippines has been in varying lockdown levels since the government imposed a lockdown in mid-March last year, causing many businesses to close down temporarily.

The Philippines continues to grapple with surging infections totaling 1,276,004 as of Monday. The disease has claimed so far nearly 22,000 lives in the country.