The unemployment rate in the province of Catanduanes decreased to 6.9 percent in 2023 as it continued its yearly fluctuations since 2019, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported last week.
This represents 7,434 individuals unable to find work that year, the agency stated, noting that the unemployment rate and unemployed population in the island witnessed fluctuations from 2019 to 2023.
In 2019, the unemployment rate stood at a low 5.7 percent (5,916 individuals) but surged to 10 percent (10,248 individuals) in 2020, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered many businesses and severely limited work opportunities.
Then the next year it decreased slightly to 6.8 percent (7,487 individuals) before rising again in 2022 to 7.7 percent (8,738 individuals).
In its special report on the preliminary results of the 2023 Annual Provincial Labor Market Statistics, the PSA Catanduanes Provincial Statistical Office said, the number of Catandunganons who were in the labor force was 108,000 out of the estimated 180,000 population 15 years old and over in 2023.
This translates to a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 59.9 percent or 60 in every 100 Catandunganon 15 years old and over who were either employed or unemployed.
In 2023, the total number of employed persons was estimated at 101,000 or 93.1 percent, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the 92.3 percent employment rate in 2022.
The employment rate of 94.3 percent in 2019 dropped to 90.0 percent in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted economic activities and caused a temporary reduction in employment opportunities.
While the employment rate bounced back to 93.2 percent in 2021, there was a subsequent decrease in 2022 to 92.3 percent before recovering the next year.
However, out of the 108,000 who either worked or had a job in 2023, about 21.9 percent or 22,000 workers considered themselves underemployed.
These employed persons expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer working hours.
The Labor Force Survey (LFS) is a nationwide monthly survey of households conducted by the PSA to gather data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population.
The conduct of monthly Labor Force Survey starting in 2018 led to the generation of the Provincial Labor Force data on employment, unemployment, underemployment and labor force participation rate.
The Labor Force refers to the population 15 years old and over who contribute to the production of goods and services in the country. It comprises the employed and unemployed.
Those employed consists of persons in the labor force who are reported either at work or with a job or business although not at work. Persons at work are those who did some work, even for an hour during the reference period.
On the other hand, the unemployed consists of persons in the labor force who are reported as (1) without
work; and (2) currently available for work; and (3) seeking work or not seeking work because of the belief that no work is available, or awaiting results of previous job application, or because of temporary illness or disability, bad weather or waiting for rehire or job recall.