7.3 Million Filipinos Have No Jobs; Do You Still Have Yours?

If you're still working, be thankful you have a job. 

On Friday, June 5, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported an increase in unemployment rate in the country—17.7 percent, to be exact. This is equivalent to 7.3 million jobless Filipinos. 

For comparison, in the same time last year, the unemployment rate was at 5.1 percent; in January 2020, it was 5.3 percent. 

From January to April this year, the employment rate fell from 94.7 percent to 82.3 percent. In April 2019, it was at 94.9 percent. What do these numbers mean? There were 41.8 million people who had jobs in April 2019 and 33.8 million in April 2020. 

Of the people who technically have jobs, 38.4 percent or 13 million are not at work. 

The unemployment rate in all regions are in the double digits, with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM) at 29.8 percent; Central Luzon follows at 27.3 percent.