Jobless rate eases to 3.9% in August

The Philippines’ unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% in August, driven by renewed hiring in the agriculture and construction sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.

The August jobless rate is an improvement from the three-year high of 5.3% in July, and 4% in August 2024, preliminary Labor Force Survey data showed.

The number of jobless Filipinos slid to 2.03 million in August from 2.59 million in July and 2.07 million a year earlier.

PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa attributed improvement in the labor market in August to the recovery in some industries that were affected by typhoons in July.

“What we observed was that the biggest decline in July was in agriculture, retail trade, and construction — but they’ve now bounced back,” he told a news briefing in Filipino.

“So, in a way, the job losses in July turned out to be temporary, and those who were displaced have returned. Basically, these are the industries that recovered,” he added.

For the first eight months, the jobless rate stood at 4.1%, a tad higher than the 4% rate a year ago.

In August, the agriculture and forestry sector gained 1.35 million jobs from July, a month that was battered by bad weather. This brought the total number of workers in the sector to 8.73 million, up from 7.38 million a month prior. Year on year, the sector gained 300,000 workers in August.

The Philippines is struck by more tropical cyclones annually than any other region, with an average of 20 storms each year. According to the national weather bureau, typhoon activity peaks between July and October, accounting for nearly 70% of all cyclone formations during this period.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma welcomed the improved jobs data, saying the government is committed to “future-proofing” and “weather-proofing” jobs.

“We hope and look forward to sustaining these favorable employment statistics through stronger collaboration and partnerships with business organizations and the private sector, as well as government agencies and departments,” he said via Viber.

Underemployment falls

Meanwhile, underemployment eased to 10.7% in August from 11.2% a year prior and 14.8% a month before.

This was equivalent to 5.38 million Filipino workers that wanted more working hours or an additional job in August.

Of the underemployed workers in August, 62.4% worked less than 40 hours a week, while 37.6% worked 40 hours or more a week.

For the January-to-August period, the underemployment rate rose to 12.7% from 12.1% a year ago.

Also, the employment rate improved to 96.1% in August from 94.7% in July, with the total employed persons rising to 50.1 million.

This brought the eight-month average employment rate to 95.9%, down from 96% a year ago.

Wage and salary workers accounted for 64.4% of employed persons, followed by self-employed without any paid employees (27%), unpaid family workers (7%) and employers in own family-operated farm or business (1.6%).

Among wage and salary workers, those employed by private establishments accounted for 78%, followed by those employed in government or government-controlled corporations (14.1%).

The labor force participation rate climbed to 65.1% in August from 60.7% in July, equivalent to 52.13 million Filipinos aged 15 and older either working or seeking work.

PSA data showed the service sector remained the country’s biggest employer in August, accounting for 61.5% of total jobs, followed by agriculture at 20.4% and industry at 18.1%.

Wholesale and retail trade, agriculture and forestry, and construction were the top sub-sectors.

On an annual basis, construction gained 540,000 workers, followed by fishing and aquaculture (448,000), administrative and support service activities (307,000), agriculture and forestry (300,000), and other service activities (239,000).

In contrast, wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles posted the largest annual decline in workers at 788,000, followed by public administration and defense, compulsory social security (-220,000); education (-151,000); human health and social work activities (-134,000); and real estate activities (-75,000).

Youth employment also improved, with the employment rate among those aged 15 to 24 rising to 88.3% from 81.9% in July, the local statistics agency said.

On average, employees worked 41 hours a week, up from 40.7 hours in August last year.

Threat of bad weather

Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan called for continued investment in workforce development, infrastructure and digitalization — especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises — to build resilience in vulnerable sectors. 

“We aim to enhance resilience in sectors vulnerable to disruptions, such as retail trade and agriculture, by prioritizing improvements in logistics, infrastructure, digitalization, and workforce development,” he noted.

“The government is also ramping up investments in climate-resilient infrastructure and proactive measures, alongside timely emergency employment programs to support workers affected by disruptions.”

In a note, Chinabank Research said the threat of bad weather conditions persists and continues to pose a risk to job opportunities, especially in agriculture and fisheries, retail trade and construction.

“On a more positive note, seasonal demand due to the upcoming holidays should provide some support to the labor market this quarter,” it added.

University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations Benjamin B. Velasco said historical data show an uptick in employment as the holiday season approaches.

“It can still be dampened by the impact of climate events on vulnerable sectors like agriculture,” he said via Facebook Messenger.

Mr. Velasco said the drop in unemployment and rise in labor force participation are positive developments as more people who were out of work or discouraged from working are now employed.

“Hopefully, more of them are in full-time work and good jobs, as shown in [a] slight decrease in the underemployed.”

PSA’s Mr. Mapa said the labor market in September may have been affected by the series of typhoons and the recent 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit southern Philippines. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter