December is usually when cash registers ring nonstop, delivery vans double-park with abandon, and seasonal jobs pop up like Christmas lights. This time, though, the Philippine labor market delivered a quieter jingle. Despite peak holiday demand, joblessness refused to melt away, hinting that even Santa’s factory may have sent a few elves home early.
The results of the labor force survey released Friday by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed unemployment rate in December holding at 4.4 percent, unchanged from November but sharply higher than the 3.1 percent recorded a year earlier.
In headcount terms, 2.26 million Filipinos were unemployed, slightly more than the 2.25 million in November and far higher than the 1.63 million logged in December 2024.
The surprise was not just that unemployment failed to ease, but that it stayed elevated during what is normally the busiest hiring season for a country with the longest Christmas celebration.
Economic Planning Undersecretary and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said that while the economy generated around 172,000 new jobs, it showed a declining trend. “Admittedly, based on our data for the last three years, this is the lowest additional employed person year-on-year,” said Mapa, noting that a total 1.29 million new jobs were generated by the economy in 2023 and around 664,000 new jobs in 2024.
He said the weakness in construction was an aftershock of the flood-control controversy, which weighed on the economy’s ability to generate more jobs to accommodate an expanding workforce. In December, construction shed 550,000 jobs.
More Filipinos were also actively looking for work. The labor force expanded to 51.69 million in December from 51.52 million in November, pushing the labor force participation rate up to 64.4 percent. While participation remained below the level seen a year earlier, the month-on-month rise suggests renewed job search activity, possibly driven by higher prices, expiring short-term contracts, or hopes that post-holiday demand would extend into the new year.
Employment edged up to 49.43 million from November, but it still fell short of the 50.19 million employed in December 2024.
Services continued to dominate, accounting for more than 62 percent of jobs, led by wholesale and retail trade. Holiday-friendly sectors such as accommodation and food services posted solid annual gains, yet these were offset by sharp declines in construction, manufacturing, and transportation, dulling what is usually a seasonal lift.
Those who did have jobs worked longer hours. Average weekly hours climbed to 41.2, suggesting firms leaned more on existing workers rather than expanding payrolls.
Underemployment eased to 8.0 percent, offering some relief, but the broader picture remains mixed.
Last December, the elves stayed busy, just not busy enough to spread the cheer across the labor market.
