The number of jobless Filipinos amid the coronavirus crisis eased to 12.7 million in November 2020, according to a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

This, however, is still far from the employment figures before the pandemic.

The latest figure is 27.3% of the adult labor force and was an improvement from the 39.5% in September, which was equivalent to 23.7 million unemployed people.

In November 2019, or the last measurement before the pandemic, unemployment stood at 17.5%.

The national survey was conducted between November 21 to 25 using face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults. The survey was not commissioned and was initiated by SWS alone.

Joblessness fell sharply in Visayas, from a record-high of 52% in September to 19.1% in November.

Mindanao also saw significant improvements, from 40% in September to 17% in November.

Joblessness was somewhat flat in Balance Luzon, from 33.5% to 32.7%.

Metro Manila reported some improvements, from 39.9% to 37.8%. (READ: In Duterte’s 4th year, COVID-19 causes highest unemployment on record)

Hunger among the jobless

As unemployment fell, families experiencing involuntary hunger also went down.

Compared to September, families that experienced hunger fell among both the jobless (by 21 points) and among those that have jobs (by 7 points).

The survey found that 16% or 4 million families experienced hunger for at least once in the past 3 months.

Among the total adults in the labor force, 63% said their lives worsened, 23% said it stayed the same, and 14% said it improved in the last 12 months.

This gives a net gainers score of -49, classified as “extremely low” by the SWS. – Rappler.com