Philippine joblessness rises to 5.3% in August

THE PHILIPPINES’ unemployment rate rose to 5.3% in August from 3.9% a year earlier, leaving 2.77 million Filipinos without jobs as the labor market struggled to absorb a growing working-age population, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday.

The number of unemployed Filipinos increased by about 740,000 from 2.03 million in August 2025, while the number of employed people fell to 49.79 million from 50.1 million.

The August jobless rate, however, eased from a four-year high of 6% in July, when 3.14 million Filipinos were unemployed. Employment increased from 49.21 million a month earlier.

National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis S. Mapa attributed the year-on-year rise in unemployment to the labor market’s inability to fully absorb people who entered the workforce.

Mr. Mapa said 897,000 people entered the labor force in August, but only 470,000 found jobs, leaving 427,000 unemployed.

He said global market headwinds also weighed on manufacturing industries including garments, consumer electronics and electronic cables.

Bad weather, meanwhile, reduced average weekly working hours to 39.2 hours from 41 a year earlier and 40.6 in July, Mr. Mapa said.

The labor force participation rate fell to 64% from 65.1% a year earlier, translating to 52.56 million Filipinos aged 15 and older in the labor force. That compared with 52.13 million a year earlier.

The participation rate improved from 63.6% in July, when the labor force stood at 52.36 million.

Job quality also weakened from a year earlier, with the underemployment rate rising to 11.9% from 10.7%. This meant 5.9 million employed Filipinos wanted additional working hours, another job or a job with longer hours.

Underemployment eased from 12.9% in July.

Services remained the country’s biggest source of employment, accounting for 61.7% of employed Filipinos. Agriculture accounted for 20.9%, while industry made up 17.3%.

Wholesale and retail trade and motor vehicle repair had the biggest share of employment at 19%, followed by agriculture and forestry at 18.6% and construction at 10.3%.

Agriculture and forestry posted the biggest year-on-year increase in employment, adding 532,000 workers. Education added 298,000 jobs, accommodation and food services gained 195,000, transportation and storage added 185,000 and human health and social work gained 142,000.

Manufacturing posted the steepest annual decline, shedding 350,000 jobs. Fishing and aquaculture lost 335,000 workers, while wholesale and retail trade and motor vehicle repair shed 269,000.

Public administration and defense lost 220,000 workers, while other service activities shed 212,000.

Wage and salary workers accounted for 64.2% of total employment, while self-employed workers without paid employees made up 27.5%. Unpaid family workers accounted for 6.6%, while employers in family-operated farms or businesses made up 1.8%.

Workers in private establishments accounted for 50.3% of all employed Filipinos. Government and government-controlled corporations accounted for 9.1%.

The labor market was also weaker for young Filipinos. The labor force participation rate among those aged 15 to 24 fell to 32.7% from 33.3% a year earlier.

The youth employment rate dropped to 84.3% from 88.3% in August 2025, although it improved from 81.4% in July. About 587,000 of the 5.95 million employed young Filipinos were underemployed. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking and Norman P. Aquino