Unemployment in the Philippines rose to 5.3 percent in July 2025 from 4.7 percent a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday.
The rate was also higher than the 4.1 percent recorded in April 2025.
The number of unemployed individuals in July was 2.59 million, up from 2.38 million in July 2024 and 2.06 million in April 2025, the PSA said in a statement.
The country’s labor force participation rate (LFPR) in July 2025 decreased to 60.7 percent from 63.5 percent in July 2024 and 63.7 percent in April 2025.
The LFPR translates to 48.64 million Filipinos aged 15 and over who were in the labor force, down from 50.06 million in July 2024 and 50.74 million in April 2025.
The employment rate in July 2025 dropped to 94.7 percent from 95.3 percent in July of the previous year and 95.9 percent in April 2025. The number of employed persons decreased to 46.05 million in July 2025 from 47.68 million in July 2024 and 48.67 million in April 2025.
The services sector accounted for the largest share of total employment at 62.8 percent, followed by industry with 18.7 percent and agriculture at 18.5 percent.
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles accounted for the largest share of employment by subsector at 19.2 percent, followed by agriculture and forestry (16.0 percent) and construction (10.0 percent).
Wage and salary workers accounted for more than half of employed persons (68.7 percent), followed by the self-employed (24.7 percent), unpaid family workers (3.9 percent), and employers in their own business (2.6 percent).
The underemployment rate in July 2025 rose to 14.8 percent, from 12.1 percent in July 2024 and 14.6 percent in April 2025. Of the total underemployed, 51.7 percent worked less than 40 hours a week, while 48.3 percent worked 40 hours or more.
The youth LFPR, for those aged 15 to 24, decreased to 29.5 percent in July 2025 from 34.2 percent in July 2024. The youth underemployment rate was 13.7 percent, higher than the 11.9 percent in July 2024.
The proportion of youth not in education, employment and training (NEET) increased to 15.9 percent from 13.9 percent in July of the previous year.
