PHL July jobless rate worst in over 4 years

The Philippines’ unemployment rate rose to 6% in July, the highest level since June 2022, as the labor force expanded faster than employment, leaving 3.14 million Filipinos without jobs.

The unemployment rate increased from 5.3% a year earlier and 4.9% in June, while the number of unemployed rose by 550,000 from 2.59 million in July 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.

“We have not seen this in quite some time,” National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis S. Mapa told reporters on Tuesday, noting that the last time the jobless rate breached 6% was in January and February 2022, at 6.4%.

The unemployment rate last hit 6% in June 2022.

Mr. Mapa attributed the uptick mainly to a swelling labor force, particularly among the youth.

The increase in employment was not enough to absorb the 3.7 million additional people who joined the labor force — mostly young Filipinos transitioning from school to work — resulting in a lower employment rate of 94% from 94.7% a year earlier.

About 1.33 million of the new entrants were aged 15 to 24, many of them fresh from school and entering the job market for the first time.

“Not all of them were employed,” Mr. Mapa said, adding that this was especially evident in the National Capital Region (NCR), where 731,000 young people joined the labor force in July but only 532,000 were absorbed, leaving roughly 199,000 unemployed.

Bad weather in July also weighed on hiring in some sectors, he said.

The labor force participation rate in July rose to 63.6% from 60.7% a year earlier. Employment also increased to 49.21 million from 46.05 million.

Underemployment, however, eased to 12.9% from 14.8% a year earlier. About 6.33 million employed Filipinos wanted additional hours of work, another job or a job with longer hours.

The average workweek also shortened to 40.6 hours from 42 hours a year earlier.

Services remained the biggest source of jobs, accounting for 62.8% of total employment, followed by agriculture at 19.7% and industry at 17.5%. Wholesale and retail trade, agriculture and forestry, and construction were the three largest employment subsectors.

Agriculture and forestry posted the largest annual increase in employment, adding 1.03 million workers. Accommodation and food service activities added 729,000, while wholesale and retail trade added 424,000.

Manufacturing posted the biggest decline, shedding 134,000 workers from a year earlier. Information and communication lost 41,000 jobs, while professional, scientific and technical activities declined by 28,000.

The National Capital Region had the highest unemployment rate among regions at 8.2%, followed by the Bicol Region at 8%, Ilocos Region at 7% and Central Visayas at 6.3%. Six regions recorded unemployment rates above the national average.

Among Filipinos aged 15 to 24, the labor force participation rate increased to 33.7% from 29.5% a year earlier, while the employment rate slipped to 81.4% from 81.9%. The share of young people not in education, employment or training fell to 15.2% from 15.9%. — Norman P. Aquino and Erika Mae P. Sinaking