WHILE THE GOVERNMENT can rejoice in the lower 1.3-percent inflation in May, it has a lot to worry about when it comes to generating more quality jobs in the Philippines.
This, as the country’s unemployment rate was estimated at 4.1 percent, or slightly higher than the April 2024 unemployment rate of 4.0 percent.
This translates to unemployed persons numbering 2.06 million in April or higher than the 2.04 million in the same month last year. Also, the employment rate in April 2025 was recorded at 95.9 percent, slightly lower than the April 2024 employment rate of 96.0 percent.
To counter the challenges in the Philippine labor market, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) officer in charge and Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon cited the rollout of the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) Plan and the entry of new investments as solutions.
“Attracting more investments to generate higher-quality and better-paying jobs, particularly in manufacturing and higher-value-added services, and expanding into new markets is essential to broadening our economy and opening up more job opportunities for Filipino workers,” she said.
“Attracting more investments to generate higher-quality and better-paying jobs, particularly in manufacturing and higher-value-added services, and expanding into new markets is essential to broadening our economy and opening up more job opportunities for Filipino workers,” Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) officer in charge and Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon said.
LOWER INFLATION AIDED BY LOWER RICE PRICES
Meanwhile, the lower inflation rate of 1.3 percent in May is the lowest since the 1.2 percent in November 2019, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
National Statistician Dennis Mapa said this brings the year-to-date average inflation to 1.9 percent, or within the lower end of the government’s 2 to 4 percent target range.
The lower inflation was primarily attributed to the slower increase in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 2.3 percent from 2.9 percent in April.
However, the current administration has to thank the fact that global crude oil prices were at their lowest point for the current year in May, going as low as $57 to a barrel. On the other hand, global oil crude prices were hovering above $63 per barrel in recent days.
This resulted, among others, in the lowering of the rates of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in May, or to P12.2628 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from P13.0127 per kWh in April.
Also, compared to last year, the agriculture sector was reeling from El Nino, that caused rice prices to escalate. Then, the government’s roll out of its P20 per kilogram (kg) rice program, dubbed ““Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na” helped ease food inflation to 0.7 percent in May 2025 or much lower than the 6.1 percent in May 2024.
In May, the average price of regular milled rice declined to P43.19 per kg from P51.11 in May 2024. The average price of well-milled rice fell to P49.45 per kg from P56.06 per kg last year while special rice declined to P59.80 from last year’s P64.41 per kg.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the appreciation of the peso to an average of P55.62 to a dollar in May also helped ease price pressures. In April, the peso averaged P56.85 to a dollar.
“Easing prices of rice and fish due to favorable domestic supply conditions in conjunction with lower oil prices, electricity rates, and the peso appreciation contributed to the downward price pressures for the month,” the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.
However, the declining inflation rate can be rendered useless if the country sees an increase in the ranks of the unemployed, and a lack of quality jobs for Filipinos.
