(UPDATE) MORE Filipinos found themselves without work in March even as job quality improved, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed on Wednesday.

Unemployment picked up to 3.9 percent from 3.5 percent in February but was still lower than year-earlier 4.7 percent based on preliminary results of the PSA's latest Labor Force Survey,

Some 2 million Filipinos were jobless in March, up from 1.8 million a month earlier. The updated estimate, however, is lower than the 2.42 million recorded 12 months earlier.

Underemployment, meanwhile, dropped to 11 percent from 12.4 percent in February and 11.2 percent in March last year.

The underemployed — those looking for more work or an extra job — numbered 5.4 million, down from 5.4 million a year earlier and 6.1 million in February.

Employment dipped to 96.1 percent from 96.5 percent in February but was higher than March 2023's 95.3.

Those with jobs, however, were more at 49.15 million in March compared to February's 48.9 million and the year-earlier 48.58 million.

The country's Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) — the number of people who are an active part of the workforce — improved to 65.3 percent from 64.8 percent a month earlier. It was, however, lower than the 66 percent seen in March last year.

Services continued to account for the largest share of employment at 61.4 percent of the total. Agriculture and industry followed with 20.5 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) noted the improvement in the labor market and said the government remained committed to creating more high-quality jobs that would reduce poverty in the country.

"We will focus on attracting job-generating investments from the private sector and scaling up social and physical infrastructure to improve our people's employment prospects to achieve this goal," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

"We will focus on attracting job-generating investments from the private sector and scaling up social and physical infrastructure to improve our people's employment prospects to achieve this goal," he added.

A medium- and long-term foreign investments promotion and marketing plan is being targeted for completion by June 30, Balisacan continued.

The government, meanwhile, was said to be planning the inclusion of data sciences, analytics, and artificial intelligence courses into worker training programs in collaboration with the private sector.

"For the government to sustain a robust labor market and reap the benefits of the demographic dividend, it must ensure that people are healthy, educated, and skilled," Balisacan said.

"To facilitate the development of soft and hard skills among workers and create a more agile and adaptive workforce, we at NEDA continue to advocate for the passage of the Apprenticeship Bill, Lifelong Learning Bill, and the Enterprise Productivity Act," he added.

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