MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) welcomed the labor market improvement in August while staying committed to resolving employment challenges.
The labor force survey for August 2026, which was released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, showed that that there were 49.79 million employed Filipinos that month—a 574,000 increase from July.
"The improvement in August is encouraging, particularly the increase in employment and decline in unemployment. But we cannot be complacent. Our task is to make sure that jobseekers are connected to opportunities, workers have relevant skills, and employment assistance leads to more sustainable work," Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said.
The DoLE said in its statement that for the rest of 2026, it "has recalibrated its targets to focus on tangible outcomes for workers, employers, and" its partners.
The department said that expanding Trabaho Agad job fairs, "scaling up skills development for a future-ready workforce, strengthening pathways from employment assistance to sustainable livelihoods, and improving regional service delivery" were among the key priorities.
"We need to closely monitor where opportunities are growing and where gaps remain, and make sure that our employment services, skills programs, and livelihood interventions respond to those needs," Tolentino said.
He emphasized that his department's efforts extend past improving employment statistics.
"Our success should be measured not only by how many workers we assist today, but by how many are able to move forward tomorrow through a job, new skills, an enterprise, or a better livelihood," Tolentino said.
The survey found an increase in the labor force to 52.56 million.
Also, the employment rate rose to 94.7 percent from 94 percent while the unemployment rate fell to 53 percent from 6 percent.
Month on month, the number of unemployed people fell to 2.77 million from 3.14 million.
The underemployment rate fell to 11.9 percent from 12.9 percent in July, while remaining higher than 10.7 percent year on year. The number of underemployed people decreased by 424,000 to 5.91 million month on month.
Youth employment rose to 84.3 percent while unemployment fell to 15.7 percent.
The DoLE said that to sustain this momentum, it "is strengthening school-to-work and skills-to-jobs pathways through the Government Internship Program, Special Program for the Employment of Students, JobStart Philippines, and Trabaho Agad, in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Migrant Workers, Public Employment Service Offices, local government units, and employers."
"Complementary measures, including the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program, support youth livelihoods while helping MSMEs preserve employment amid economic challenges," the DoLE said.
MSMEs stand for micro, small and medium enterprises.
"The Department also intensified emergency employment and community recovery interventions during August," the DoLE said.
It said that through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (Tupad) program, it mobilized about 171,000 workers in over 9,300 public schools "under the expanded Brigada Eskwela initiative with the Department of Education."
"Beyond immediate income support, DOLE is strengthening TUPAD as a bridge to sustainable livelihoods and careers by establishing integrated work-to-skills, work-to-enterprise, and work-to-employment pathways through the implementation of the seven flagship TUPAD innovations," the DoLE said.
It said it "remains committed to intensifying its employment facilitation and workforce development programs, in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure that economic growth translates into more productive, inclusive, resilient, and future-ready employment opportunities for Filipino workers."
