Expensive food and utility prices have led to the highest increase in inflation in 4 years.
Amid reports of continuously rising prices in staple goods and the peso weakening against the dollar, some people are truly feeling the pinch, especially as the. Add to that the fact that the unemployment rate continued to rise in August, according to the latest figures by the Philippine Statistics Authority .
The PSA’s latest Labor Force Survey revealed that there were 2.68 million Filipinos who were unemployed in August, higher than the figure of 2.60 million in July, National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said at a press briefing. This brings the Philippines’ latest unemployment rate to 5.3 percent, higher than the 5.2 percent rate in July. This year’s unemployment rate is lower than last year, however, when 3.88 million were recorded jobless in August 2021.
While being unemployed at a time of high prices is bad enough, Filipinos are going to have to brace themselves even further during this economic downturn as inflation in the country has risen to 6.9 percent in September — the highest it has shot up in four years. The inflation rate was driven mainly by — you guessed it — expensive food and utility prices.
The latest figures seem to reinforce the idea that Manila is becoming an increasingly expensive city to live in — especially considering the meager average salaries its populace earns. A report by iPrice places the average monthly for Filipinos at PHP18,900 a month.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
PH inflation rate accelerates to 6.9% in SeptemberTHE Philippine’s inflation rate rose to 6.9 percent in September 2022, slightly higher than during the month prior, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday,...
Read more »
September inflation quickens to 6.9%THE country’s headline inflation rate rose to 6.9 percent in September, significantly higher than the 6.3 percent in August this year.This is the highest recorded inflation since October 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022.September inflation in Central Visayas also accelerated to 8.1 percent from 7.4 percent in August.With this month’s inflation, the country’s average inflation rate from January to September 2022 stood at 5.1 percent. September inflation last
Read more »
Philippines' 4-year high inflation boosts chances of more rate hikesThe September inflation rate, which was above the 6.7% forecast in a Reuters poll, was driven mainly by high food and utility prices and brought the average rate in the nine months to September to 5.1%, the statistics agency said on Wednesday, well outside the central bank's 2% to 4% target. The faster-than-expected inflation rate reinforced expectations the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which has so far raised rates by a total of 225 basis points this year, would deliver more rate hikes at its November and December meetings. ING Bank economist Nicholas Mapa said in a statement he expects the central bank to lift its key policy rate, currently at 4.25%, by 50 basis points at each of its two remaining meetings this year in to tame inflation.
Read more »