MANILA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Around 3.88 million Filipinos were out of work in August, up from the 3.07 million reported in July, according to a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) survey released on Thursday.
In an online briefing, PSA head Dennis Mapa said that the unemployment rate increased to 8.1 percent from 6.9 percent in July as the country reverted to tighter COVID-19 lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant.
The country's economic team expressed optimism that the Philippines will recover to its pre-pandemic growth trajectory by the end of 2022 or early 2023.
The economic team comprises Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, and Budget officer-in-charge Tina Rose Marie Canda.
To better manage the health risks from COVID-19 and enable the people to earn a living, the team stressed the need to ramp up the vaccination program and focus on granular lockdowns while preventing COVID-19 transmissions.
"These efforts will complement our recovery program and help our country bounce back from this crisis," the team added. Enditem