63% of employed Filipinos returned to work following eased restrictions - Duterte

Six out of 10 employed Filipinos reported for work from June 1 to 15 after the Philippines eased COVID-19 restrictions to give way to the gradual reopening of the economy, President Rodrigo Duterte told Congress on Monday.

In his weekly report, Duterte said 63.1% of employees/workers in the country were working from June 1 to 15, which was 10% higher than the number of employees allowed to work from May 1 to 15.

Nearly 98% of establishments were allowed to operate from June 1 to 15.

Metro Manila was under the less stringent general community quarantine (GCQ) during the said period. Several regions were under modified GCQ, the least restrictive form of community quarantine aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. 

“As more regions and provinces begin to ease on their lockdown, employment and economic activities are also  gradually improving,” Duterte said.

Duterte extended the GCQ in Metro Manila until June 30 but reimposed the strict enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Cebu City due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.

The Philippines posted a record-high unemployment rate of 17.7% (equivalent to 7.3 million unemployed Filipinos) in April, which Malacañang said was expected given the closure of most businesses due to the implementation of the ECQ.

Duterte said the industries with the most employees affected by the pandemic include retail trade (except motor vehicles and motorcycles), crop and animal production, hunting and related services, and construction of buildings.

“With more than half of the labor force working in areas still under GCQ, conservative assumptions indicate that labor productivity and employment rate will still suffer a significant decline, especially when industries are not operating at full capacity,” he said.

The country has a labor force of more than 40 million people. -- BAP, GMA News