UNEMPLOYMENT in the Philippines climbed sharply in July this year, with 2.59 million people out of work compared with 1.95 million the month before, according to government data released on Wednesday, September 10.
The jobless rate rose to 5.3 percent from 3.7 percent in June, the Philippine Statistics Authority said. This means 53 in 1,000 individuals do not have jobs or livelihoods during the period.
The latest unemployment rate was the highest since June 2022’s 6.03 percent, when the economy was still lingering from the pandemic’s onslaught.
Measures of job quality also deteriorated. Some 6.8 million employed Filipinos said they were looking for additional work or longer hours to boost their income, up from 5.76 million in June. That pushed the underemployment rate to 14.8 percent, from 11.4 percent in June 2025 and 12.1% in July 2024.
Meanwhile, employed persons, or those with jobs and livelihoods, during the period contracted to 46.05 million from 50.47 million in June 2025 and 47.68 million in July 2024.
As a percentage of labor force participants, the employment rate stood at 94.7%, lower than the 96.3% seen in June 2025 and 95.3% in July 2024.
The PSA attributed the increase in unemployed persons and decreases in both employed and labor force participation to the series of storms which hit the country during the month. (Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral © Philippine Daily Inquirer/with reports from GMA Network)
