Unemployment slightly decreases in September
MANILA, Philippines — The unemployment rate slightly decreased in September 2025, inching towards 3.8% from 3.9% the previous month, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday, November 6.
In terms of magnitude, this translates to around 1.96 million people who were unemployed as of September 2025—slightly higher than the 1.89 million unemployed persons recorded the same time last year.
Meanwhile, the current employment rate is at 96.2%, which means that 49.6 million people are employed in the Philippines.
Most of the people who are employed are in the services sector (61.3%), followed by agriculture (20.9%) and industry (17.8%).
The PSA noted that the following subsectors had the highest annual increases in employees:
- Construction: Up by 514,000
- Fishing and aquaculture: Up by 313,000
- Accommodation and food service activities: Up by 307,000
- Human health and social work activities: Up by 183,000
- Agriculture and forestry: Up by 126,000
On the other hand, the following subsectors recorded the highest year-on-year decline in the number of workers:
- Other service activities: Down by 493,000
- Administrative and support service activities: Down by 356,000
- Manufacturing: Down by 302,000
- Transportation and storage: Down by 233,000
- Public administration and defense; compulsory social security: Down by 220,000
In terms of the class of workers, wage and salary workers comprised 64.1% of employed persons in September 2025. They are followed by self-employed workers (27.6%), unpaid family workers (6.6%), and employers in their own family-operated farm or business (1.7%).
The country’s underemployment rate, or employed persons who need to work more hours or jobs, was at 11.1%. This is higher compared to August 2025’s 10.7%.
The current underemployment rate translates to around 5.52 million people.
Filipinos worked an average of 40.5 hours per week in September 2025.
The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said that the current employment rates still signified a stable economy, but continuous education and training in emerging skills was important. Filipinos must be trained in digital literacy, green technologies and higher-value services.
“To build and strengthen the resilience of our labor markets, the Marcos Administration will focus on implementing strategies that create stable, high-quality jobs and expand opportunities for informal workers and the youth,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.
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