Western Visayas’ employment rate picked up further to 93.26 percent at the start of the third quarter of the year, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-6).
The July figure was higher compared to 92.5 percent recorded in April and 90.9 percent in January.
John Mandario, DOLE-6 information officer, said the increase was driven by the easing of quarantine restrictions in the region.
This allows several businesses to gradually reopen and helps restore jobs.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the region dropped further to 6.74 in July.
In January, the jobless rate was at 9.1 percent and went down to 7.5 percent in April.
From Jan. 1 to Sept. 12, a total of 99,957 workers from 4,150 establishments were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the affected establishments, 1,937 resorted to reducing work days, affecting 57,239 workers, and 1,343 establishments with 33,984 workers, temporarily closed.
The pandemic also resulted in the massive retrenchment of 7,986 workers from 781 establishments.
Moreover, 89 establishments closed permanently affecting 748 workers.IMT
