The country’s unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent in July 2025, the highest level since August 2022, despite a shrinking labor force—weighed down largely by a series of storms and widespread flooding, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Wednesday.
The July figure was up from 4.7 percent in July 2024 and mirrored the same level seen in August 2022. The number of unemployed Filipinos surged to 2.59 million, from 2.38 million a year earlier and 2.06 million in April 2025.
National Statistician and Economic Planning Undersecretary Dennis Mapa attributed the spike in unemployment and decline in labor force participation to a series of typhoons and widespread flooding, which disrupted jobs in agriculture, construction, aquaculture, and retail.
Mapa reported that agriculture and forestry alone lost 1.38 million jobs year-on-year, while wholesale and retail trade—including repair of motor vehicles—shed 897,000 jobs. Fishing and aquaculture declined by 173,000, and construction lost 147,000.
The labor force participation rate dropped to 60.7 percent in July from 63.5 percent in the same month last year and 63.7 percent in April, equivalent to 48.64 million Filipinos aged 15 and older in the labor force—down from 50.06 million in July 2024 and 50.74 million in April.
The employment rate slipped to 94.7 percent, with 46.05 million employed in July, down from 47.68 million in July 2024 and 48.67 million in April.
The services sector remained the top employer at 62.8 percent, followed by industry (18.7 percent) and agriculture (18.5 percent). Wage and salary workers made up 68.7 percent of those employed, followed by the self-employed (24.7 percent), unpaid family workers (3.9 percent), and employers (2.6 percent).
