MANILA, Philippines—Stricter lockdowns in areas accounting for half of the economy last April raised the unemployment rate to 8.7 percent, or an estimated 4.14 million Filipinos with jobs, with one-fifth of them in Metro Manila.
The entry of fresh graduates into the labor force at the same time compounded the problem, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.
The jobless rate “also reflects the usual school calendar where there are some graduates that add to the labor force population,” Chua, who heads the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), told the Inquirer.
National Statistician Dennis Mapa told a press briefing …
Keep on reading: Unemployment rises in April amid NCR Plus lockdown