JOBLESSNESS among adult Filipinos dropped to 19.7 percent or an estimated 8.6 million adults in the second quarter of this year, the latest Social Weather Station survey showed.
In the survey released yesterday, the latest percentage of jobless adults is 4.2 points below the 23.9 percent or estimated 10.9 million adults in March 2018 but it is four points above the December 2017 rate of 15.7 percent or some 7.2 million adults.
This includes the 9.5 percent (4.2 million) Filipino adults who voluntarily left their old jobs, those who involuntary lost their jobs or termed as retrenched at 6.8 percent (three million), and first-time job seekers at 3.4 percent (1.5 million).
Based on the June 2018 survey, the proportion of those who resigned or those who left their jobs voluntarily fell by 3.1 points from 12.6 percent in March 2018 to 9.5 percent.
There is also a decrease of at least 0.9 points among those who were retrenched from 7.7 percent in March to 6.8 percent in June this year, which consists of four percent whose previous contracts were not renewed, 2.1 percent were laid off, and 0.7 percent whose employers closed operations. (Alexandia Dennise San Juan)