THE number of Filipinos with jobs or livelihoods posted an over a million year-on-year decline in March this year due to continued decrease in those working in the agriculture sector as well as the election-related ban on hiring in government offices, according to the results of the Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest Labor Force Survey.
National Statistician and PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa reported that employed persons, ages 15 and above, plunged by around 1.13 million to 48.02 million from 49.15 million in the third month of 2024.
Month-on-month, those with jobs and livelihoods also declined by about 1.13 million from 49.15 million in February 2025.
Mapa said the top two contributors to the decline in employed persons were the agriculture and forestry and public administration and defense, compulsory social security sectors.
In particular, the agriculture and forestry sector saw a decline of 609,000 workers while the public administration and defense, compulsory social security sector posted a decrease of 394,000.
“For public administration and defense, compulsory social security… these are employees in government [so] we feel this was affected by the election ban,” Mapa said.
During the election period, the hiring and promotions of workers in the government are suspended from March 28 to May 11, 2025.
The other top sectors which posted the highest annual decrease in employed persons are as follows:
* Manufacturing – 281,000
* Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles – 175,000
* Professional, scientific and technical activities – 100,000
A significant month-on-month drop of 473,000 employed people was also seen in the construction sector.
Mapa said the drop could be attributed to a possible stoppage in the construction of buildings.
As a percentage of 49.96 million participants in the labor force — who are actively looking for labor opportunities during the period — the number of employed persons translated to an employment rate of 96.1%, the same level year-on-year but slightly lower than the 96.2% rate in February.
Unemployed
Meanwhile, the number of unemployed persons was flat at 1.93 million in March from 1.94 million in February.
Year-on-year, it grew marginally by about 69,000 from two million in March 2024.
As a percentage of 49.96 million labor force participants, the unemployment rate stood at 3.9%, the same rate seen in March last year and slightly above the 3.8% in February 2025.
The decline in both employment and unemployment numbers was correlated to the 1.20-million year-on-year decrease in labor force participation from 51.15 million in March 2024.
The PSA chief said the top reasons cited by those who opted not to actively seek jobs and livelihoods in March were “return to schooling” and “household and family duties.” (GMA Integrated News)
