Jobless at record high – SWS survey

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Filipino adults without work reach 13.8 million or 34.4% of labor force, the highest, according to the survey results

MANILA, Philippines – Unemployment among Filipino adults reached a new record high in the first quarter, with many of them expecting no change in the availability of jobs over the next 12 months, a survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

According to the survey, 34.4% or 13.8 million of adults or those aged 18 and above were without work as of March 2012. The rate was 10 points higher than the 24% or 9.7 million recorded in December 2011. It also breached the previous record high of 34.2% set in February 2009.

The Labor Department has yet to comment on the SWS survey, whose previous results were disputed by government.

Citing the official Labor Force Survey (LFS), the government earlier said the unemployment rate eased in January to 7.2% — equivalent to 2.922 million Filipinos — from 7.4% the previous year.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has said the SWS and LFS surveys could not be compared because they’re not apple to apple. The SWS surveys are usually conducted among over 1,000 Filipinos aged at least 18, while the LFS interviews those aged 15 and above belonging to 50,000 households.

No change in job situation

The first-quarter SWS survey showed that of the unemployed in March, 13% were retrenched, 15% resigned and 6% were first-time job seekers.

Of the retrenched, 10% did not get new contracts, 2% were affected by business closures, and 1% were laid off.

The SWS said that since November 2010, the jobless were mostly those who voluntarily left their jobs and those who lost them under circumstances beyond their control.

In terms of age, unemployment was highest among young people: 55% of respondents were aged 18 to 24, up from 49.1% in December; 45.5% were aged 24 to 34, up from 29.9%.

More among women than men were also without jobs. Unemployment rate among women rose to 43% in March from 35.6% in December 2011, while the rate among men rose to 27.6% from 15.2%.

Meanwhile, 33% of SWS survey respondents believed there will be no change in the number of jobs available in the next year, 26% expected more jobs and 25% saw fewer jobs coming. – Rappler.com

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