The Philippines' unemployment and underemployment rates continued to edge up in April, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed on Friday.
The jobless rate was 4.1 percent in April, which was higher than the 3.9 percent clip seen in March, and the 3.8 percent clip in February. The April jobless rate however was lower than the 4.3 percent clip seen in January, the PSA said citing the results of its Labor Force Survey.
In April, 2.06 million workers were unemployed, the PSA said. This was higher than the 1.93 million clip seen in March and the 1.94 million unemployed seen in February.
The underemployment rate also climbed to 14.6 percent in April from 13.4 percent in March, and from 10.1 percent in February. It was also higher than the 13.3 percent clip in January.
Underemployed workers are those who already have jobs but are still looking for extra jobs or more work hours, according to the PSA.
Most of the underemployed came from the agriculture and forestry and administrative and support services sectors, the PSA said.
"In terms of magnitude, 7.09 million of the 48.67 million employed individuals expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work in April 2025," the PSA said.
PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Dennis Mapa noted that the number of people who had jobs in April was still higher by 317,000 compared to January. He explained that this was due to the higher number of people who joined the workforce during the period.
“Dumami kasi yung ating mga kasama na sumama dito sa labor force,” he said. “If you’ll notice, mataaa yung increase ng ating labor force participation, ito ay umakyat ng 340,000 from April 2024 to April 2025.”
“At kadalasan pag tumataas yung ating labor force participation rate, yung number, hindi naman talaga na-absorb lahat doon sa employed persons,” he explained.
Broken down, the following sectors had the highest number of job increases in April this year from the same month last year:
- Administrative and support service activities (394,000);
-Public administration and defense; compulsory social security (262,000);
-Agriculture and forestry (260,000);
- Construction (121,000); and
-Education (66,000).
Meanwhile, the following posted the highest job losses:
-Manufacturing (410,000);
-Other service activities (183,000);
-Accommodation and food service activities (141,000);
-Arts, entertainment and recreation (63,000); and-Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (57,000).
Mapa said the drop in manufacturing jobs is connected to the decrease in the country’s export of semiconductors. He also said the PSA will monitor how a higher minimum wage—should it be passed into law—will affect unemployment in the country.
“Once it is implemented by our regional wage boards, for example, ito ay titinganan natin kasi pwedeng iba-iba yung epekto niya sa mga subsectors ng ating labor market,” he said.
Serving the European-Philippine business community since 1978, the ECCP remains committed to enabling cross-sector collaboration, promoting economic growth, and championing a sustainable future. For inquiries or further information, you may contact us directly or connect with us through our official social media channels.