THE recovery of the tourism industry and other sectors have contributed to a steep decline in the number of unemployed during the first quarter of the year, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In its latest Job Displacement Report (JDR), DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) said that the number of reported unemployed workers in tourism dropped to just 1,268 from January to March 2023 from 11,552 in the same period last year.
Rounding up the top 5 sectors with significant year-on-year decline in displaced workers are wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (-7,523); education (-5,200); other service activities (-4,280) as well as administrative and support service activities (-2,335).
Meanwhile, sectors which registered the highest year-on-year increase of displaced workers are the information and communication sector (+3,413), construction (+2,531), professional, scientific and technical activities (+331), and mining and quarrying (+174).
Overall, BLE said a total of 114,914 workers lost their jobs from January to March, which is lower than the 146,938 year-on-year.
Of those displaced during the first quarter, the bulk or 104,662 were retrenched by 3,706 establishments, while the remaining 10,252 were displaced by the permanent closure of 463 companies.
“Retrenchment or reduction of workforce was mostly observed in small enterprises (42 percent or 1,573) while there was a higher incidence of permanent closure recorded in micro enterprises (42 percent or 196),” BLE said.
The JDR is based on the regular displacement reports submitted by employers to DOLE.
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