Philippine jobless rate hits 6-month high

The Philippines’ unemployment rate in January rose to its highest level in six months, as hiring declined after the holiday season, the statistics agency said on Thursday.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Labor Force Survey showed the jobless rate at 4.3% in January, slightly lower than 4.5% a year ago but higher than  3.1% in December.

This translated to 2.16 million jobless Filipinos in the first month of the year, unchanged from January 2024 but higher than the 1.63 million seen in December 2024.

January saw the highest unemployment rate since 4.7% in July 2024.

At a news briefing, PSA Assistant Secretary Divina Gracia L. Del Prado said higher unemployment is always seen in January.

“If you look at the series, it always happens — employment shoots up in December, and then suddenly in January, it drops because there’s no longer a demand,” she said in mixed English and Filipino.

Bicol Region recorded the highest unemployment rate with 6.5%, while Zamboanga Peninsula had the lowest with 2.3%.

“While we welcome this development, we also acknowledge that these additional jobs are classified as vulnerable. Therefore, our strategy remains clear: to sustain job creation by fostering a dynamic and investment-friendly economy while preparing our workforce for high-growth and emerging industries that offer high-quality, well-paying jobs,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a statement.

Meanwhile, underemployment slipped to 13.3% in January, equivalent to 6.47 million from 13.7% in the same month a year ago.

However, January underemployment — the proportion of those already working, but still looking for more work or longer working hours — rose from 10.9% in December.

It was also the highest in nine months or since April 2024 when it hit 14.6%.

“The industry with the largest share of underemployment is agriculture and forestry. Agriculture accounts for 44.5% of total underemployment. Nearly half of those employed in the sector consider themselves underemployed,” Ms. Del Prado said in Filipino.

Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani) had the highest underemployment rate at 29.5%, while the Davao Region was the lowest at 3.3%.

PSA data showed the size of the labor force stood at approximately 50.65 million Filipinos aged at least 15 years old, yielding a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 63.9%. This was higher than the 61.1% in January 2024, equivalent to a labor force of 48.06 million.

The LFPR is the percentage of the population that is economically active.

“This suggests robust employment growth compared to last year… due [to] more money circulating in the economy as a result of election spending by candidates and the flood of aid,” University of the Philippines Diliman School of Labor and Industrial Relations Assistant Professor Benjamin B. Velasco told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat.

The youth LFPR rose to 31.8% in January from 29.7% in January 2024.

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto is optimistic that youth participation in the labor force will continue to increase amid government efforts to “harness the country’s demographic sweet spot.”

“We have a multifaceted strategy to sustain our dynamic labor market, focusing on education and workforce development, infrastructure, and investments. We are investing heavily in both intellectual and physical infrastructure,” Mr. Recto said in a statement.

PSA data also showed the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded the highest LFPR with 72.5%, while the Bicol Region recorded the lowest with 59.1%.

CONCERNS
Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Jose Sonny G. Matula said the latest jobs data raises serious concerns.

“Unemployment, underemployment, and precarious work arrangements continue to rise, underscoring the urgent need for economic reforms that will provide stable, high-paying jobs while ensuring that businesses can sustain growth,” he told BusinessWorld in a Viber chat.

PSA data showed the employment rate, which is the proportion of the employed to the total labor force, stood at 95.7% in January. This was a tad higher than the employment rate of 95.5% in the same month in 2024.

About 48.49 million Filipinos had jobs in January, higher than 45.9 million in the same month last year but lower than 50.19 million in December 2024.

Zamboanga Peninsula had a 97.7% employment rate, the highest in the country, while Bicol Region had the lowest at 93.5%.

The services sector remains the largest employer, accounting for 61.6% of jobs, followed by agriculture and forestry (21.1%) and industry (17.2%).

Most jobs in the services sector are contractual, seasonal, or precarious, Mr. Matula noted.

“Many workers are trapped in labor-only contracting schemes, job orders (JOs) or contracts of service (COS) without security of tenure, and short-term employment cycles that offer no long-term stability,” he said.

Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino President Renecio S. Espiritu, Jr. said the higher underemployment rate shows Filipinos are struggling with insufficient wages or jobs that do not match their background.

“Workers in critical sectors like manufacturing continue to decline due to rampant contractualization and union-busting,” Mr. Espiritu said in Filipino.

He also pointed out the “very low” LFPR for women at 52.9%.

“This means we are either wasting a significant portion of our labor power or failing to recognize the reproductive work that women perform — both of which are simply unacceptable,” Mr. Espiritu said.

Meanwhile, agriculture and forestry had the biggest annual increase in jobs in January, adding 883,000 jobs. This was followed by wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (850,000); accommodation and food service activities (533,000); and transportation and storage (141,000).

On the other hand, manufacturing shed 209,000 jobs in January, the highest among subsectors. The professional, scientific and technical activities sector cut 58,000 jobs, followed by arts, entertainment and recreation (29,000), and construction (11,000).

Wage and salary workers accounted for 63% of the workforce in January, followed by self-employed individuals without paid employees (28.2%), and unpaid family workers (6.6%). The smallest share belonged to employers in family-operated farms or businesses at 2.2%.

Working hours averaged 40.4 hours per week in January, lower than the average of 42.2 hours a year ago. – Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter