(March 13): The Philippines is bracing for more pain ahead in its labour market due to the Middle East conflict, after joblessness surged to the highest in nearly four years.
The unemployment rate rose to 5.8% in January, the highest since June 2022 and equivalent to nearly three million Filipinos without jobs. Agriculture and retail shed the most jobs due to seasonal factors, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The Iran war could have a “more significant effect” on the Philippine labour market compared to the war in Ukraine, as some of the millions of Filipino workers in the Middle East may opt for repatriation, Deputy National Statistician Divina Gracia Del Prado said at a briefing on Friday.
Returning Filipino workers can be trained for higher-value jobs, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement after the jobs data release. Around 10 million Filipinos live and work abroad, of which 2.4 million are in the Middle East.
“The government continues to pursue a comprehensive response to support affected workers in the short term while fostering a dynamic and robust labour market in the medium and long term,” Balisacan said.
See also: The Garuda economy
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