Unemployment rate rise in Philippines

Unemployment in the Philippines rose to 7.1 percent in October, up from the 6.8 percent posted for the month last year, the government' s National Statistics Office said Tuesday. However this rate was down from the 7.6 percent posted in July, the last jobless figure released by the statistics office. Underemployment, defined as those working fewer than 40 hours a week, rose to 19.4 percent in October, down slightly from the rate posted in July. However, this was sharply up from the 17.5 percent posted in October 2008. The size of the labour force increased to 38.2 million, up from 37.8 million in April. Only 22 million of the total labour force were working full-time. No reason was given for the rise in unemployment but the country's economic growth has been sluggish in recent months, with the gross domestic product rising by only 0.8 percent in the three months to September.