Record-high ang bilang ng mga Pinoy na walang trabaho sa bansa matapos itong pumalo sa 7.3 milyon nitong Abril dahil sa epekto ng COVID-19 pandemic sa ekonomiya, ayon sa Labor Force Survey ng Philippine Statistics Authority.
“Unemployment rate rose to 17.7%, equivalent to 7.3 million unemployed Filipinos in the labor force in April 2020,” pahayag ni National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa nitong Biyernes.
“This is a record high in the unemployment rate reflecting the effects of economic shutdown to the Philippine labor market, due to COVID-19,” dagdag ni Mapa.
Para mapigilan ang pagkalat ng COVID-19, nagpatupad ng community quarantine ang pamahalaan simula noong Marso 17, na dahilan para magsara ang maraming negosyo.
Noong nakaraang survey ng Enero 2020, nasa 5.3 percent lang ang unemployment rate. Noong Abril 2019, 5.1% naman ang unemployment rate.
“In terms of magnitude, the number of unemployed persons increased by five million from 2.3 million in April 2019 to 7.3 million in April 2020,” paliwanag ni Mapa.
Sinabi rin ng opisyal na nakapagtala ng double-digit unemployment rates ang lahat ng rehiyon.
Pinakamataas ang unemployment rate sa Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARRM) na umabot sa 29.8%.
Sumunod sa BARMM ang Region III o Central Luzon (27.3%) at Cordillera Administrative Region (25.3%).
Samantala, bumaba naman sa 82.3% ang employment rate nitong Abril kumpara sa 94.7% noong Enero at at 94.9% noong Abril 2019.
“This translates to a decrease in employed people by eight million from 41.8 million in April 2019 to 33.8 million in April 2020,” sabi ni Mapa.
Ang malaking bilang ng mga nawalan ng trabaho ay nasa industriya ng Arts, Entertainment and Recreation; Electricity, Gas, Steam, and Air Conditioning supply; Information and Communication; Accommodation and Food Services activities; at Construction.
Samantala, nasa 6.4 milyong Pinoy naman ang underemployed, ayon pa sa PSA.--FRJ, GMA News
