Mindanao provinces record highest employment rate

MANILA, Philippines – The National Statistics Office (NSO) announced today that the country’s highest employment rates in January were recorded in Mindanao provinces.

Zamboanga Peninsula registered a 96.9 percent employment rate while South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City were at 96.8 percent.

On the other hand, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was at 96.1 percent employment rate during the first month of 2011.

But overall, the number of Filipinos without jobs rose by 7.4 percent amid the record breaking economic growth last year, the NSO noted.

The NSO said the data translated to more than 2.9 million jobless Filipinos in January this year compared to last year’s 2.8 million.

The 7.3 percent economic growth last year, which is the highest in 34-years failed to generate more employment, the NSO added.

The National Capital Region (NCR) had the lowest employment rate at 88 percent. (report from Jun Pasaylo, Philstar.com)