Local shares slid down Thursday after a two-day break as investors digested the hotter-than-expected March US Consumer Price Index .
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that unemployment rate in the Philippines eased to 3.5 percent in February 2024 from 4.5 percent in January and 4.8 percent a year ago.The underemployment rate also fell to 12.4 percent in February this year from 13.9 percent in January and 12.9 percent in February 2023.
They also came on the back of other data — most recently a forecast-busting jobs report — suggesting the world’s number one economy was still in rude health despite borrowing costs being at a two-decade high and inflation well above target. And former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said traders must “take seriously the possibility that the next rate move will be upwards rather than downwards”.