Middle-income Filipinos are crucial to economic growth and national development but remain vulnerable to economic shocks and the risk of falling into poverty, experts and academics said on Wednesday.
Data from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), presented at the University of Asia and the Pacific’s (UA&P) 2025 mid-year business economics briefing, showed that 58.5 percent of lower middle-income households are still at risk of poverty.
This vulnerability persists despite their significant contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) growth and the expanding middle class, due to factors such as geographic disparities, gaps in social protection and job insecurity.
Dr. Jose Ramon Albert, a PIDS senior research fellow, noted that the middle-class population is primarily concentrated in the National Capital Region, Region IV-A (CALABARZON) and Central Luzon. His study indicated that a recent decline in this group demonstrated their susceptibility to economic disruptions.
Job insecurity also presents a challenge, with many middle-class workers concerned about securing stable employment and facing limited advancement opportunities.
The government has consistently aimed to transform the country into a predominantly middle-class society by 2040.
To achieve this, experts and academics stressed the need to address the middle class’s vulnerabilities by creating more quality jobs, improving access to affordable education and healthcare and implementing targeted social insurance mechanisms to guard against potential economic shocks.
“A resilient and expanding middle class is essential to sustaining inclusive economic growth in the Philippines. While poverty reduction efforts have achieved progress over the past decades, the expansion of the middle class remains uneven and vulnerable to economic shocks,” a UA&P cursory paper said.
“Policymakers must prioritize not only lifting people out of poverty but also supporting vulnerable and emerging middle-class households to ensure they do not slip back due to crises or insufficient upward mobility,” it said.
Strengthening the middle class is crucial as middle-income Filipinos contribute significantly to the Philippines’ GDP growth through household consumption, tax revenue, formal employment and social investment, it said.
