MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ unemployment rate inched up to 4.5% in June, bringing the total number of jobless Filipinos to 2.3 million, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday, August 9.

The latest figure is slightly higher than the 4.3% registered last May. On a month-on-month basis, the number of unemployed persons increased by 159,000.

The latest figure, however, is better compared to June 2022, when the unemployment rate stood at 6%. On a year-on-year basis, the number of unemployed persons decreased by 633,000.

Meanwhile, the underemployment rate stood at 12%, equivalent to 5.87 million employed Filipinos who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work. In June 2022, the underemployment rate was estimated at 12.6%, while it was 11.7% in May 2023.