MANILA, Aug 3 (NNN-PNA) – Around 3.76 million Filipinos were out of work in June, compared to 3.73 million recorded in May, according to a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) survey, released today.
The June unemployment rate, at 7.7 percent, is lower than the unemployment rates in Apr (8.7 percent), Feb (8.8 percent), and Jan (8.7 percent), but higher than the 7.1 percent reported in Mar, PSA head, Dennis Mapa said, in an online briefing.
With the emergence of the more transmissible COVID-19 Delta variant, the government will reimpose a hard lockdown in Metro Manila from Aug 6 to 20, to curb the possible spread of the new variant.
The two-week lockdown is expected to impact the employment outcomes in Aug. The government said, it is determined to maximise the hard lockdown period to accelerate vaccination in high-risk areas, to resume economic activities and restore jobs safely.
The country’s economic managers said, the government has prioritised preventing the spread of the Delta variant through more proactive quarantines in high-risk areas and an accelerated vaccination programme.
“These actions are crucial in ensuring that economic gains in recent months will resume once we have addressed this current threat,” the economic managers said.
The Philippines now has over 1.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 28,093 deaths.– NNN-PNA
