File photo.

MANILA -- The country’s unemployment rate further declined to 3.6% in November 2023 from the 4.2% in the previous months, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Monday.

The latest figure translates to 1.83 million unemployed individuals, lower than the 2.18 million in November 2022 and 2.09 million in October 2023.

This is the lowest recorded unemployment rate since the PSA introduced a new methodology for measuring the labor force survey in 2005.

On the other hand, the employment rate in November 2023 increased to 96.4%, from the recorded 95.8% in the same month in 2022 and in October 2023.

The number of employed individual in November 2023 was estimated at 49.64 million, from 47.80 million estimated in October 2023 and the 49.71 million individuals in the same month last year.

The PSA also noted a decline in labor force participation rate among young people and women influenced by influenced by family responsibilities, schooling, and age-related factors.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR) for November 2023 slid to 65.9% from 67.5% in November 2022. The figure translates to an estimated 51.47 million Filipinos aged 15 years and older in the labor force, lower than the 51.88 million in November 2022.

According to National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, the country will need to expand the digital economy, including the digitalization of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and startups, to address the declining labor force and increase labor market gains in 2024 and beyond.

Balisacan also stressed the need to create a regulatory framework that would allow alternative work arrangements, including part-time work, even in the formal sector. (PND)