Jobless rate dips to 3.9% in May

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine labor market showed improvement in May as the level of unemployment and underemployment declined from the previous month, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a press conference yesterday that results of the PSA’s Labor Force Survey showed the country’s unemployment rate dipped to 3.9 percent in May from the previous month and May 2024, which were both at 4.1 percent.

In terms of magnitude, the number of jobless Filipinos also went down to 2.03 million in May from 2.06 million in the previous month and 2.11 million in May last year.

Mapa attributed the improvement in the unemployment figures to the “substantial increase in the labor force participation.”

The country’s labor force participation rate increased to 65.8 percent in May from 63.7 percent in the previous month and 64.8 percent in May last year.

There were 52.32 million Filipinos in the labor force in May, higher than the previous month’s 50.74 million and the 50.97 million in the same month last year.

The PSA said the latest labor force participation is the highest recorded since April 2005.

The PSA data also showed that the underemployment rate declined to 13.1 percent in May from the previous month’s 14.6 percent, but went up from 9.9 percent in the same month last year.

There were 6.6 million underemployed Filipinos or those who want to have additional hours of work or an additional job in May, lower than the previous month’s 7.09 million, but higher than the 4.82 million in May 2024.

The country’s employment rate climbed to 96.1 percent in May this year from the previous month and the same month last year, which were both at 95.9 percent.

There were 50.29 million employed Filipinos in May, up from 48.67 million in April and 48.87 million in May last year.

Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan welcomed the development in labor force participation, saying this indicates a healthy and competitive Philippine labor market.

“Generally, a larger workforce can lead to increased economic output and potentially higher GDP (gross domestic product) growth, as more people contribute to the economy,” Balisacan said.

“This also reflects growing confidence in the labor market and the impact of ongoing efforts to expand access to employment opportunities across sectors,” he said.

For Balisacan, the government’s push for critical infrastructure flagship projects will not only address gaps, but also attract job-generating investments.

Apart from continuing infrastructure development efforts, he said there is a need to make public spending more efficient by allocating limited fiscal resources to high-impact areas including quality education, health care, food security and connectivity.

He said upskilling the workforce is also needed to equip Filipinos with in-demand skills and competencies.

In line with the country’s shift toward high-value information technology-business process management services, he said the government will focus on strengthening workforce competencies in digitalization and generative artificial intelligence (AI).

As digital technologies gain ground, the government is set to issue guidelines on the Future Workforce in an AI Workplace to help government agencies, industry players, labor groups, academic institutions and workers integrate AI into their operations, while safeguarding jobs.

The government is also scheduled to release the midterm update of the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028 this month.

The plan highlights key priorities and recalibrated strategies to help the country navigate through heightened external uncertainties and create quality jobs.