Philippines Jobless Rate Hits 3-Year High

The unemployment rate in the Philippines rose to 5.3% in July 2025 from 4.7% in the same month a year earlier, marking the highest level since August 2022. The number of unemployed individuals increased to 2.59 million from 2.38 million in July 2024, while the total number of employed persons fell to 46.05 million from 47.68 million. Among major industry sectors, the services sector continued to employ the largest share of workers at 62.8% of the total employed population, followed by industry at 18.7% and agriculture at 18.5%. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate declined to 60.7% from 63.5% a year earlier, indicating fewer Filipinos aged 15 and over were active in the labor market. On average, employed individuals worked 42.0 hours per week, slightly higher than the 41.1 hours recorded in July 2024, suggesting a modest increase in workload among those employed.