MANILA : According to official data released on Thursday, the Philippines' unemployment rate increased to 6 percent in May from the previous month's record of 5.7 percent.
In May, 2.93 million Filipinos were unemployed, up from 2.76 million in April, according to figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), according to reports Xinhua. However, 46.08 million Filipinos were employed in May.
The National Economic and Development Authority reports that the underemployment rate rose to 14.5 percent in May, which translates to an additional 1.2 million underemployed people, as a result of a rise in the number of self-employed people and unpaid family workers.
"The economy's complete reopening is now the main challenge. Through investments that increase productivity, the government will put its attention on creating more jobs, quality jobs, and green jobs over the medium term "said Arsenio Balisacan, secretary of socioeconomic planning.
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