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

PH unemployment at 3-year high

The country's labor market worsened in July following the series of typhoons that struck the country, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.

The country’s unemployment rate was recorded at 5.3 percent, up from 4.1 percent and 3.7 percent a month and year earlier. This is the highest recorded jobless rate since June 2022 at 6.0 percent.

source: PSA

This translates to 2.59 million unemployed Filipinos, higher than the 1.95 million and 2.38 million recorded in June and July 2024.

Meanwhile, underemployment — which counts those looking for more work or an extra job — rose to 14.8 percent, up from 11.4 percent in June. It is also higher than the 12.1 percent recorded a year ago.

The number of underemployed individuals stood at 6.80 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, dropped to 94.7 percent, lower than the 96.3 percent and 95.3 percent recorded a month and year earlier. The number of individuals with jobs reached 46.05 million.

The country’s Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in April was registered at 60.7, markedly lower than the 65.7 percent in June and 63.5 percent in July 2024.

Source: Manila Times

Employment Rate in April 2022 is Estimated at 94.3 Percent

Employment rate in the country in April 2022 was estimated at 94.3 percent, translating to about 45.63 million employed Filipinos. This was higher compared to the reported employment rate at 91.3 percent in April 2021 or a year-on-year increase of about 2.36 million employed Filipinos from 43.27 million in April 2021.

The country’s unemployment rate has improved from the reported 8.7 percent a year ago to 5.7 percent in April 2022. Unemployment rate was posted at 6.4 percent in January 2022.

In terms of magnitude, the total number of unemployed individuals 15 years old and over in April 2022 was registered at 2.76 million. It was lower by 1.38 million from the number of unemployed persons in April 2021.

Persons in the labor force or the number of persons 15 years old and over reported as either employed or unemployed was estimated at 48.39 million in April 2022. This was higher compared to the 47.41 million Filipinos in the labor force for the same period last year. The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in April 2022 was likewise higher at 63.4 percent compared to the reported 63.2 percent in April last year.

Source: PSA