By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan
Western Visayas’ unemployment and underemployment rates continued to decline in 2023, as shown in preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Region VI’s Annual Labor Market Statistics released on Friday, January 24, 2025.
The region’s unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent, its lowest in recent memory, below the 2019 rate (4.7 percent) and the 2023 national average (4.3 percent).
Unemployment has steadily decreased over three years: 5.2 percent in 2022, 6.6 percent in 2021, and a peak of 7.8 percent in 2020.
Among provinces and highly urbanized cities, Antique recorded the highest unemployment rate (5.5 percent), while Guimaras posted the lowest (2.7 percent).
Iloilo province followed Antique at 4.9 percent, with Aklan (4.4 percent), Capiz (4.0 percent), Iloilo City (3.7 percent), Negros Occidental (3.6 percent), and Bacolod City (2.9 percent) trailing.
Western Visayas ranked seventh-highest in unemployment nationally, with the National Capital Region at the top (5.9 percent) and Cagayan Valley at the bottom (2.4 percent).
Conversely, the region’s employment rate reached 95.9 percent in 2023, surpassing the national average of 95.7 percent.
Guimaras had the highest employment rate at 97.3 percent, while Antique had the lowest at 94.5 percent.
Bacolod City followed Guimaras at 97.1 percent, with Negros Occidental (96.4 percent), Iloilo City (96.3 percent), Capiz (96.0 percent), Aklan (95.6 percent), and Iloilo province (95.1 percent) completing the list.
The data came from the PSA’s Labor Force Survey (LFS), conducted monthly nationwide.
Definitions of Employment and Unemployment
The PSA-Region VI defines employed persons as those aged 15 and above who:
- Worked at least one hour during the reference period for pay or profit, or for family enterprise without pay; or
- Had a job but were temporarily absent due to illness, vacation, or other reasons.
Unemployed persons are defined as those who were:
- Without work, available for work, and actively seeking work; or
- Not seeking work due to fatigue, illness, bad weather, or awaiting rehire or job application results.
The reference period spans seven days prior to the enumerator’s visit.
Underemployment
Underemployment in Western Visayas fell to 13.7 percent in 2023, down from 16.3 percent in 2022 and 20.4 percent in 2021.
However, the regional rate remains above the national average of 12.3 percent.
Iloilo province recorded the highest underemployment rate (17.5 percent), while Bacolod City had the lowest (3.5 percent).
Negros Occidental (16.3 percent), Antique (14.6 percent), Guimaras (13.8 percent), Capiz (13.8 percent), Aklan (6.5 percent), and Iloilo City (6.5 percent) filled the gap.
Western Visayas ranked eighth nationally in underemployment, with SOCCSKSARGEN highest (25.3 percent) and Central Visayas lowest (6.0 percent).
Underemployed persons are those employed but seeking additional work hours or new jobs with longer hours.
Labor Force
The 2023 LFS estimated that Western Visayas had a labor force of 3.582 million, with 3.434 million employed, 471,000 underemployed, and 148,000 unemployed.
Negros Occidental had the largest labor force population (1.131 million), followed by Iloilo province (924,822), Capiz (383,056), Bacolod City (293,044), Aklan (279,737), Antique (270,148), Iloilo City (222,216), and Guimaras (77,938).
The labor force includes those 15 years and older who are employed or unemployed.
Excluded are those not seeking work, such as housekeepers, students, retirees, and persons with disabilities. Overseas workers are also not included in labor force estimates.
