Jobless rate improves to 3.9%

The Philippine labor market improved in May, latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed, with the labor force participation rate rising to its highest in 20 years and both unemployment and underemployment going down.

The jobless rate eased to 3.9 percent from 4.1 percent in April and a year ago, with the count of those without work falling to 2.03 million from 2.06 million and 2.11 million a month and a year earlier.

Underemployment, which counts those wanting additional hours of work, additional job, or a new job with longer hours, slipped to 13.1 percent from 14.6 percent in April.

It was, however, well above the 9.9 percent recorded in May last year.

In terms of magnitude, 6.60 million of the 50.29 million individuals with jobs were classified as underemployed. Of this, 59.2 percent worked fewer than 40 hours a week, the PSA said, while the remaining 40.8 percent were employed for 40 hours or more.

The number of employed persons rose from 48.67 million in April and 48.87 million in May 2024. This brought the employment rate to 96.1 percent, slightly higher than the 95.9 percent recorded in both April this year and May 2024.

The services sector remained the dominant source of employment, accounting for 61.8 percent of all jobs in May. This was followed by agriculture at 21.1 percent and industry at 17.1 percent.

Wholesale and retail trade and the repair of motor vehicles accounted for the largest share of jobs at 19.8 percent, followed by agriculture and forestry at 18.8 percent and construction at 9.5 percent.

The biggest year-on-year gains in employment were seen in wholesale and retail trade, which added 489,000 jobs. This was followed by agriculture and forestry with 469,000, administrative and support service activities with 371,000, accommodation and food services with 365,000, and other service activities with 175,000.

The manufacturing sector suffered the most job losses, shedding 374,000 positions from the previous year. Construction followed with a loss of 298,000 jobs while mining and quarrying, public administration and defense and water supply and waste management also recorded annual declines.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR), meanwhile, climbed to 65.8 percent in May, up from 64.8 percent in the same month last year and 63.7 percent in April 2025. This translates to 52.32 million Filipinos aged 15 years and older who were either employed or actively seeking work — the largest labor force recorded since April 2005.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said this was the highest LFPR since 2005.

“We welcome this development in labor force participation because it indicates a healthy and competitive Philippine labor market,” Balisacan said in a statement.

“Generally, a larger workforce can lead to increased economic output and potentially higher GDP (gross domestic product) growth, as more people contribute to the economy.”

Balisacan said the government’s ongoing push for key infrastructure flagship projects would help close development gaps and attract more investments that can generate jobs.

He also stressed the need to improve how public funds were being used by focusing limited resources on priority areas such as quality education, healthcare, food security and connectivity infrastructure.

Source: Manila Times