Unemployment hits 3-month high

The number of jobless Filipinos surged in October, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday, with rates hitting a three-month high.

The country’s unemployment rate was recorded at 5.0 percent, markedly up from 3.8 percent and 3.9 percent a year earlier.. This is the highest unemployment rate since July of this year at 5.3 percent.

This translates to 2.54 million unemployed Filipinos, higher than the 1.96 million recorded in September 2025 and 1.97 million in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, underemployment — which counts as those looking for more work or an extra job — rose to 12.0 percent, up from 11.1 percent last month. It is, however, lower than year-earlier 12.6 percent.

The number of underemployed individuals stood at 5.81 million. These are workers who expressed a desire for additional hours in their current job, an additional job, or a new job with longer hours.

Employment rate, meanwhile, recorded a downtick of 95.0 percent, down from 96.2 percent recorded a month earlier and 96.1 percent a year earlier. The number of individuals with jobs reached 48.62 million.

The country’s Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in October was registered at 63.6, lower than the 64.5 percent a month earlier but slightly higher than the 63.3 percent recorded a year earlier.

Source: Manila Times

PHL has over 1 million working children

The number of children working in the country fell by 26% to 1.09 million in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

PSA data showed the number of working children, aged between five and 17 years old, dropped by over 383,000 in 2023 from about 1.48 million in 2022.

The share of children doing work fell to 3.5% of the child population in 2023, lower than 4.7% in the previous year.

The term “working children” covers all children engaged in any form of economic activity regardless of their age or the nature of the work, PSA said.

Out of the 1.09 million working children, boys made up 59.1% of the total, while girls accounted for 40.9%.

The service sector employed 50% of the working children, slightly higher than 49.5% in 2022.   

The agriculture sector’s share of child workers went up to 43.7% in 2023 from 43.2% in 2022.

Industry had the smallest share of working children at 6.3% in 2023, slipping from 7.3% in 2022.

In 2023, 73.7% of working children logged 20 hours or less of work each week, PSA said. This was lower than 75.6% a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the number of working children involved in “child labor” was estimated at about 678,000 in 2023, dropping from about 828,000 a year earlier.

Child labor is defined by the PSA as working children who are engaged in hazardous work or whose work exceeds 40 hours.

The statistics agency estimated that 62% of the total number of working children in 2023 were engaged in child labor. The ratio was 56% in 2022 and 68.4% in 2021.

Of the estimated 678,000 working children engaged in child labor in 2023, 62.1% or 422,000 were boys, while 37.9% or 257,000 were girls.

Agriculture had the highest share of child laborers at 65.3%, followed by services (30.7%) and industry (4%).

Earlier, Labor Undersecretary Benjo Santos M. Benavidez said the agency is working to eliminate child labor and prevent child labor practices.

Source: Business World

PHL score drops in Labor Rights Index

The Philippines’ score in the global Labor Rights Index worsened this year, largely due to an environment that restricts unions, strikes, and collective bargaining deals.

A study by the Amsterdam-based WageIndicator Foundation and the Center for Labor Research showed the Philippines logged a score of 68 out of 100 in the global Labor Rights Index this year, falling 2.5 points from a 70.5 score in 2022.

According to the scale, a score of 60.5 to 70 means there is limited access to decent work.

However, the Philippines’ score was below the global average of 74.

The Labor Rights Index scored economies based on labor laws only, discounting the actual working conditions or labor law compliance in workplaces, the Dutch organization said in a statement.

The biennial report showed that the country maintained its 2022 scores in nine of the 10 indicators in the study, except for Freedom of Association, where it scored zero out of 100.

“The Philippines saw a negative score adjustment in the Freedom of Association Indicator,” it said. It cited the provision in the Labor Code that a trade union “must demonstrate majority support in a bargaining unit for engaging in collective bargaining.”

University of the Philippines-Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations Assistant Professor Benjamin B. Velasco said the score on the rights of association and collective bargaining was “not surprising” due to the labor-related killings in the country and the unimplemented recommendations of the International Labor Organization High-Level Mission last year.

“The challenge for [the country] is how to improve its institutions (Department of Labor and Employment, labor inspectors, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, police, and military) so that laws (labor-related or otherwise) are implemented fairly and judiciously. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done,” he added.

The Philippines posted a score of 100 for the Maternity at Work indicator, which is attributed to policies supporting maternity leave, benefits, and job protection for pregnant workers.

Philippine laws mandate at least 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, with cash benefits covering a substantial portion of a worker’s wages.

The Philippines had a score of 80 in four indicators: Fair Wages, Employment Security, Social Security, and Fair Treatment.

For Fair Wages, it cited Philippine laws on minimum wages and overtime compensation but noted the lack of a law requiring additional compensation for working on a weekly rest day.

For Employment Security, it cited laws that require written employment contracts and severance of at least two weeks’ wages for every year of service. However, there is no law that limits the probationary period to three months.

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino National President Renecio “Luke” S. Espiritu called the scores for Fair Wages and Employment Security as “absurd,” noting that the minimum wage in the country (P7,531) is only a third of the living wage (P21,494).

“We in the labor movement will not stop in our fight to abolish all manpower agencies, a legislated wage increase of P750 plus, and guaranteeing union rights,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

Meanwhile, the country scored 75 in both Safe Work and Child and Forced Labor as there is a lack of law restricting work that is prejudicial to the health of the mother or the child, and the lack of law setting employment entry age equal to or higher than the compulsory schooling age.

The Philippines scored 60 on Decent Working Hours, since it lacks laws restricting maximum working hours, including overtime, to 56 hours per week and requiring at least three working weeks of paid annual leave.

It also scored 50 on Family Responsibilities as there is no law requiring four-month parental leave for parents and flexible working arrangements for workers with family responsibilities.

“Comparing with other [Southeast Asian] countries. [The Philippines scored] higher than average. But this is because the ranking is based on legislation, not implementation,” Mr. Velasco said. “If enforcement is taken into consideration, I believe the Philippines will [score] lower.”

The Labor Rights Index 2024 is a de-jure index covering 145 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker.

In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score.

Greece and Hungary are among the top scorers, with 96 points each, while Nigeria is the worst with 37 points.

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Source: Business World