The Philippines’ unemployment rate remained steady at 3.1 percent in December 2024, matching the rate recorded in December 2023, despite a drop from 3.2 percent in November 2024. While the number of unemployed individuals rose to 1.63 million in December, up from 1.60 million a year earlier, it marked a decrease from the 1.66 million recorded in November.
The employment rate for December was 96.9 percent, consistent with the previous year but slightly higher than the 96.8 percent in November. The number of employed persons stood at 50.19 million, down from 50.52 million in December 2023 but up from 49.54 million in November 2024.
Despite these shifts in the labor market, the country’s labor force participation rate fell to 65.1 percent in December, down from 66.6 percent a year ago but higher than 64.6 percent in November. The LFPR for December translated to 51.81 million Filipinos aged 15 and older actively participating in the labor force.
In terms of sectoral performance, the services sector continued to lead in employment, accounting for 60.5 percent of the total workforce.
However, certain industries, such as agriculture and manufacturing, saw declines in employment. Notably, agriculture and forestry lost 1.56 million workers, while manufacturing shed 387,000 jobs.
Underemployment also saw improvement in December 2024, dropping to 10.9 percent from 11.9 percent the previous year. However, the number of underemployed workers—5.48 million—highlighted the ongoing challenge of securing sufficient working hours and more job opportunities.
The youth labor force participation rate also decreased to 31.9 percent, down from 34.5 percent in December 2023, signaling a need for targeted efforts to improve youth employment prospects.
