Philippine unemployment rises to 34 pct - pollster

MANILA, May 12 - Unemployment in the Philippines has risen to a record 34.2 percent of the adult population, or an estimated 14 million, in the first three months of 2009, the country's leading pollster estimated on Tuesday.

According to Social Weather Stations' (SWS) first quarter survey, about three million more Filipinos either left or lost their jobs as the financial crisis squeezed the economy.

In the last three months of 2008, adult unemployment was at 27.9 percent or 11 million.

The latest survey, conducted from February 20 to 23, had 1,200 respondents.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde dismissed the results as "more perception than reality", but he admitted that surveys helped "encourage the government to pursue job generation and creation, both here and abroad".

"The SWS survey is not as accurate as the labour force survey done by the labour department, which uses internationally accepted standards," Remonde said.

The government's statistics office has said the country's jobless rate climbed to 7.7 percent in January 2009 from 6.8 percent in October last year.

Of the 34.3 million people employed in January, more than half, or 51.2 percent, worked in services. Farming was the second biggest employer with 34.6 percent, with the rest working in industry.

The country has one of the highest unemployment rates in Southeast Asia and about a third of its 90 million population is considered poor.