Philippines Jobless Rate Hits 3-Year High

The unemployment rate in the Philippines fell to 5.3% in August 2026 from a four-year high of 6% in the previous month. The number of unemployed persons declined to 2.77 million from 3.14 million, while the employment rate rose to 94.7% from 94% and the number of employed persons increased to 49.79 million from 49.21 million over the same period. The underemployment rate also eased to 11.9% from 12.9%, with 5.90 million workers seeking additional hours or another job. On a year-on-year basis, however, the unemployment rate remained above 3.9% in August 2025, while the employment rate was below 96.1% and the number of employed persons was down from 50.10 million. The underemployment rate was also higher than 10.7% a year earlier. The services sector remained the largest employer, accounting for 61.7% of total employment, followed by agriculture at 20.9% and industry at 17.3%. Average weekly working hours fell to 39.2 from 40.6 in July and 41.0 a year earlier.

The unemployment rate in the Philippines climbed to 6% in July 2026 from 4.9% in June and higher than the 5.3% recorded in July 2025. It marked the highest level since June 2022, mainly attributed to an influx of fresh graduates entering the labor force. The number of unemployed individuals rose to 3.14 million from 2.59 million in June. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate, a key indicator of job quality, increased to a three-month high of 12.9% from 12.1% in the prior month, with 6.33 million workers seeking additional hours or another job. The employment rate fell to 94% from 95.1%, as the number of employed persons declined to 49.21 million from 50.66 million. The services sector remained the country's largest employer, representing 62.8% of total employment, followed by agriculture at 19.7% and industry at 17.5%. Wage and salary workers made up 66.1% of total employment, with the majority working in private establishments (78.3%). Average weekly working hours were steady at 40.6.

The unemployment rate in the Philippines edged up to 4.9% in June 2026 from 4.8% in May and was higher than the 3.7% recorded in the same month a year earlier. The number of unemployed individuals rose to 2.59 million, up from 2.50 million in the previous month and 1.95 million in June 2025. The underemployment rate, a key indicator of job quality, ticked down to 12.1% from 12.2% in May, meaning that 6.11 million workers were seeking additional hours of work or another job. Meanwhile, the employment rate slipped to 95.1% from 95.2%, even as the total number of employed persons increased to 50.66 million from 49.63 million in the previous month. The services sector remained the country's largest employer, accounting for 62.7% of total employment, followed by agriculture (20.0%) and industry (17.3%). Wage and salary workers made up 64.1% of the employed population, with the majority (77.6%) working in private establishments. Average weekly working hours declined to 40.6 from 41.1.