Bad Weather, Curbs Stoke Philippine Jobless Rate to 2021 High

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines’ jobless rate rose to its highest this year, as bad weather and movement restrictions throttled farm and manufacturing work, officials said Thursday. 

The unemployment rate hit 8.9% in September, the highest this year when the government began reporting monthly jobs data, according to the statistics agency. Some 4.25 million people were jobless that month as the capital was under the second-strictest movement curbs amid a delta-variant-induced surge in coronavirus infections. 

More than 860,000 farm work were lost in September from the month previous, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a virtual briefing, as the harvest season ended and typhoons passed by northern and central regions. Factories, including apparel and bakery-goods producers, shed 343,000 jobs, he said. 

Labor outcomes are tipped to improve in October when smaller lockdowns were implemented, Economic Planning Secretary Karl Chua said in a statement. Job prospects are promising, as the economy recovers, he said. 

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.