PhilStar.com 04/29 /2005
MANILA (AP) - Hunger stalks 13 percent of all Philippine households, a survey by an independent pollster showed Friday.
The Social Weather Stations' survey of 1,200 adults in the first quarter of this year also showed 41 percent of all working adults worry a great deal about losing their jobs, with the highest proportion in the southern Philippines, home to a three-decade Muslim insurgency.
SWS said the survey shows that unemployment is "disastrous to family well-being," with hunger among families of the unemployed at 15.9 percent.
The World Bank said nearly half of the 84 million Filipinos live below the poverty line of 2 US dollars a day. Unemployment, according to government figures, reached 11.3 percent as of January this year despite promises of new jobs.
Of those who said they have experienced severe hunger-- defined as going hungry often or always in the last three months-- 12 percent are from families of the unemployed, 10.7 percent belong to families of the self-employed and 6.4 percent are from households of government employees.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
