By TED CORDERO, GMA News
Published May 6, 2021 11:44am Almost 10 million Filipinos experienced being laid off a year since the imposition of quarantine measures to arrest the spread of COVID-19 in the country, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday. At a virtual press conference, PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa said that in the March 2021 Labor Force Survey (LFS), the statistics agency included the question on if an individual experienced temporary or permanent lay-off during the March 2020 to March 2021 period. “Ayon sa datos, 9.82 million ang mga indibidwal na nagsabing sila ay nakaranas ng pansamantala o permanenteng pagkatanggal sa trabaho mula Marso 2020 hanggang Marso 2021,” Mapa said.
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SunStar File May 06, 2021 THE country’s unemployment rate fell to 7.1 percent in March 2021, the lowest reported rate since the Covid-19 pandemic surge in April 2020.
Some 3.44 million Filipinos remain jobless, according to the latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority Thursday, May 6, 2021. This is a reduction of about 747,000 unemployed Filipinos from February 2021.
“The labor market continued to see gains in March 2021 following the further reopening of the economy, while adhering to the minimum health standards,” said the joint statement of the government’s economic team.
The underemployment rate also decreased from 18.2 percent in February 2021 to 16.2 percent in March 2021, reflecting the improvement in the quality of jobs. In addition, more people rejoined the labor force, with the labor force participation rate improving from 63.5 percent to 65 percent.
endIndex:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 6) More Filipinos were able to find work in March, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority revealed.
National Statistician Dennis Mapa announced on Thursday an unemployment rate of 7.1% for the month, translating to 3.44 million Filipinos out of work. This is lower than the 4.2 million jobless in February, equal to an 8.8% unemployment rate.
Mapa noted that the latest monthly survey covered March 8 to 27, which was before the government imposed the strictest enhanced community quarantine classification in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna otherwise known as NCR Plus in a bid to curb rising COVID-19 infections.
Philippine priest aims broadside at liar Duterte
President accused of selling the country out to Beijing and breaking a promise to uphold Filipino claims in the South China Sea
Father Flavie Villanueva blesses a coffin containing the body a drug suspect killed in Manila in this file photo. (Photo courtesy of Father Villanueva)
A Catholic priest has launched a scathing attack on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, accusing him of breaking an election promise to oppose China’s claims on territory in the South China Sea also claimed by Manila.
Society of Divine Word Father Flavie Villanueva called Duterte “inutile” and a “liar” for comments made on May 5 in which he denied having promised Filipinos during his 2016 election campaign that he would fight against China’s claims over the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.
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SunStar File May 06, 2021 THE Philippines’ inflation rate remained at 4.5 percent in April, the same annual growth rate recorded in March 2021.
This brings the average inflation at the national level from January to April 2021 to 4.5 percent, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Inflation in April 2020 was registered at 2.2 percent.
Meat inflation reached a record high at 22.1 percent, as pork inflation soared to 57.7 percent and remains the top contributor to the headline inflation rate with 1.4 percentage points.
“Meat has been persistently the top contributor to inflation this year, hence we urgently need to temporarily augment our pork supply through importation. Retaining the status quo will cause 100 million Filipinos to suffer longer from high food prices,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said in a statement.