(Eagle News)–The country’s unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent in March, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Wednesday, May 8.

Based on PSA data, this is a 0.4 increase from the  3.5 percent unemployment rate registered the month before, and translates to two million unemployed people aged 15 and above.

The employment rate in March was recorded at 96.1 percent, lower than the 96.5 percent recorded in February, while the underemployment rate was  at 11.0 percent,  a decrease from the 12.4 percent recorded the previous month.

broad industry group, the services sector remained the top sector in terms of the number of employed persons, with a share of 61.4 percent of the 49.15 million employed persons.

“The agriculture and industry sectors accounted for 20.5 percent and 18.1 percent of the employed persons, respectively,” the PSA said.

The following are the top five sub-sectors that registered an annual increase in the number of employed persons in March:

a. Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (963000);

b. Manufacturing (553000);

c. Public administration and defense; compulsory social security  (229000);

d. Financial and insurance activities (173000); and

e. Administrative and support service activities (140000).

The PSA said wage and salary workers accounted for the largest share of employed persons, with 64.2 percent of the total employed persons.

They were followed by self-employed persons without any paid employee at 27.0 percent, and by unpaid family workers at 6.8 percent.

Employers with their own family-operated farm or business had the lowest share at 2.0 percent.