The Philippine Statistics Authority reported Wednesday that the unemployment rate further declined to 3.7 percent in September from 4.5 percent in the same month last year.

A total of 49.9 million Filipinos were employed in September , up by 2.2 million from the same period the previous year.

" The government is urgently addressing the constraints to high-quality job creation and collaborating with the private sector to capacitate our workers with the right skills and competencies simultaneously," National EWcoi Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

The total labor force participation rate increased to 65.7 percent from 64 percent in the same period last year. An additional 1.8 million Filipinos, mainly among the prime working age (+1.1 million) and women (+1.2 million), entered the labor force.

The female labor force participation rate improved to 55.7 percent from 53.4 percent, with fewer women citing household duties as a hindrance to being economically active (-835,000).

However, the underemployment rate increased in September 2024 to 11.9 percent from 10.7 percent in September 2023.

He added that fast-tracking the implementation of key infrastructure projects, particularly in energy, logistics, and physical and digital connectivity, remains critical to unlocking the country's growth potential.

He also said that the passage of the Lifelong Learning Bill and Enterprise Productivity Act will further improve the employability of the Filipino workforce.

Balisacan said the government is working to finalize the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) Plan. This 10-year roadmap will include strategies to encourage investments in priority sectors, improve the employability of the current and future workforce, and enhance labor market governance for the next decade. NEDA Public Affairs