Philippines Jobless Rate Jumps to 5% in October

The unemployment rate in the Philippines remained at 4.4% in December 2025, unchanged from November, reflecting stable labor market conditions. However, it was higher than the 3.1% recorded in December 2024. The number of unemployed persons rose slightly to 2.26 million from 2.25 million in November and 1.63 million a year earlier. Total employment increased to 49.43 million from 49.26 million in November but remained below December 2024’s 50.19 million. Among major sectors, services continued to dominate employment at 62.4% of total workers, followed by agriculture at 20.7% and industry at 16.9%. Within services, sub-sectors such as wholesale and retail trade, and accommodation and food services maintained significant shares of employment. The labor force participation rate was 64.4%, up from 64.0% in November but below December 2024’s 65.1%.

The unemployment rate in the Philippines declined to 4.4% in November 2025, down from a three-month high of 5.5% in October, reflecting an improving labor market supported by seasonal hiring. Despite the month-on-month improvement, the jobless rate remained significantly higher than the 3.2% recorded in November 2024. The number of unemployed persons increased to 2.25 million from 1.66 million in November 2024, while total employment edged down to 49.26 million from 49.54 million. Among major industry sectors, services remained the largest employer, accounting for 62.1% of total employment, followed by agriculture at 20.0% and industry at 17.9%. Labor market conditions were also affected by Typhoons Tino and Uwan, which weighed on accommodation and food services as well as wholesale and retail trade. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate decreased to 64.0% from 64.6%, indicating fewer Filipinos aged 15 and above were active in the labor market.

The unemployment rate in the Philippines jumped to 5.0% in October 2025 from 3.9% a year earlier, nearing the post-pandemic high seen in July. The increase was largely driven by more Filipinos entering the labor force during the month, coupled with the failure of September’s seasonal hiring momentum to carry over into October. The number of unemployed individuals rose to 2.54 million from 1.97 million in October 2024, while total employment also expanded to 48.62 million from 48.16 million. Across major industry groups, services remained the largest employer, accounting for 60.6% of total employed persons, followed by agriculture at 21.5% and industry at 17.9%. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.6% from 63.3% a year earlier, indicating more Filipinos aged 15 and over were active in the labor market. On average, employed individuals worked 41.3 hours per week, slightly higher than the 41.0 hours recorded in October 2024.