The Philippine unemployment rate reached 7.7 percent or 2.8 million of the country's total workforce in January, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The latest figure was higher than the jobless rate in the same month last year at 7.4 percent or 2.6 million. However, it was lower than January unemployment rates for 2006 (8.1 percent) and 2007 (7.8 percent).

In its Labor Force Survey released Tuesday, NSO said the highest jobless rate was recorded at the National Capital Region (NCR) at 14 percent, followed by Calabarzon (10.9 percent), Central Luzon (9.7 percent), and the Ilocos Region (8.5 percent).

More males (64.1 percent) were unemployed than females (35.9 percent) in the first month of the year. By age group, the NSO said five out of ten jobless persons were in the age group 15-24 years old, while three of them were in the 25-34 age bracket.

Across educational groups, the NSO said those unemployed were comprised mostly of high school graduates (32.7 percent), college undergraduates (22.2 percent), and college graduates (18.3 percent).

Underemployment rate, on the other hand, stood at 18.2 percent or 6.2 million people in January, slightly lower than 6.3 million or 18.9 percent registered in the previous year. Workers in the agriculture sector account for almost half (47 percent) of the total underemployed, followed by the services sector (37.9 percent).

Meanwhile, the NSO estimated the number of employed persons at 34.3 million, higher than 33.7 million registered in January 2008.  Across the regions, NCR posted the lowest employment rate at 86 percent, followed by Calabarzon (89.1 percent), Central Luzon (90.3 percent), Ilocos Region (91.5 percent), and Central Visayas (92.2 percent).

The services sector was the biggest employer in January with more than half (51.2 percent) of the total workforce, followed by agriculture at 34.6 percent.

In his memorandum to President Arroyo, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Recto said the country's labor force grew by 2 percent in January, faster than the employment growth of 1.7 percent. "The employment generated was not enough to compensate for the bigger number of labor entrants for the period and those who have been unemployed," Recto said in a statement.

Prioritize emergency employment

Meanwhile, Recto urged the government to prioritize emergency employment and livelihood preservation. He also called for the speedy implementation of infrastructure projects aimed towards job creation and improvement in the country's competitiveness.

"To further help minimize the adverse impact of the crisis to the most vulnerable sectors of the labor force, we strongly propose the fast disbursement of the 2009 budget and regular monitoring and reporting of accomplishments of the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program or CLEEP and the commitments of the private sector on employment creation," Recto said.

According to Recto, the government, business, and labor sectors should "take the current crisis as an opportunity to implement concrete programs that will improve firm-level productivity and intensify trainings and scholarships for the young labor force." He also proposed the fast deployment of retrenched overseas Filipino workers into other economies not severely affected by the crisis.