The National Statistics Office (NSO) said that unemployment increased to 7.5 percent in the three months through April, the highest since the quarter ended June 2010. Despite the government reported on May 30 that gross domestic product expanded 7.8 percent in the three months ended March, the fastest pace in almost three years, unemployment rate increased.

Philippine stocks slumped 4.6 percent, the biggest loss since September 2011, after the nation’s unemployment rate climbed to a three-year high and exports contracted more than expected. Read more…