Sliding unemployment rate means PH economy ‘fully recovered’

MANILA, Philippines — The continuous decline in the country’s unemployment rate “indicates that the Philippine economy has fully recovered,” said Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, adding that there’s a need for “a sustained effort” to keep these numbers low. “We laud the decline of our unemployment rate to 3.6 percent last November 2023 from 4.2 percent in October, the lowest unemployment rate since 2005,” said Villanueva in a statement Thursday. But despite this positive development, the senator emphasized that the government’s job is not yet finished. “As our labor market continues to improve and with more job opportunities from foreign investors expected to materialize this year, we need to see a sustained effort to keep our unemployment numbers low and…