The number of unemployed Filipinos surged to 2.86 million in September 2026 as employment growth failed to keep pace with an expanding labor force, pushing the jobless rate to its highest level in recent months.
The unemployment rate climbed to 5.4 percent from 3.8 percent a year earlier and 5.3 percent in August, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The number of jobless Filipinos increased by 900,000 year-on-year and 90,000 month-on-month.
While employment grew to 50.32 million from 49.6 million a year earlier, the employment rate fell to 94.6 percent from 96.2 percent. The labor force expanded to 53.19 million from 51.56 million, with participation holding at 64.5 percent.
Services accounted for 62.2 percent of employment, followed by agriculture at 20.7 percent and industry at 17.1 percent. Job gains were concentrated in accommodation and food services, which added 834,000 workers year-on-year, while construction shed 271,000 jobs, the biggest decline among industries.
Underemployment eased to 11 percent from 11.1 percent a year earlier and 11.9 percent in August. Nevertheless, 5.56 million employed Filipinos still wanted additional working hours or another job, indicating that employment remained inadequate for a substantial portion of the workforce.
Youth employment also weakened. The employment rate among Filipinos aged 15 to 24 fell to 84.7 percent from 88.4 percent a year earlier, while 715,000 employed young people remained underemployed.
The September figures suggest that a growing labor force is putting pressure on the economy’s capacity to generate sufficient jobs, even as underemployment shows some improvement.
