MANILA, April 7 (Xinhua/APP): The unemployment rate remained at 6.4 percent in February despite easing of pandemic restrictions, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.
In a virtual press conference, PSA head Dennis Mapa said the labor force participation rate increased from 60.5 percent in January to 63.8 percent in February.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said increased mobility and easing of pandemic restrictions led to “significant employment creation” in February.
As of April 1, 79 percent of the economy has been placed under the lowest alert level, Chua said, while cautioning that the country cannot reap the full benefits of shifting to alert level 1 without resuming face-to-face classes.
“This will allow one-fourth of the parents who stay at home supporting their children during online classes to work. This is crucial in light of the temporary inflationary pressures we are experiencing,” Chua added.
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