UNEMPLOYMENT accelerated to 6.0 percent in July from 4.9 percent a month earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday, signaling renewed labor market pressures amid global and domestic uncertainties.
The July figure — also up from the year-earlier 5.3 percent — was the highest since June 2022 when joblessness stood at 6.03 percent.
Some 3.14 million Filipinos were without jobs, the PSA said, significantly higher than the 2.58 million and 2.59 million seen a month and a year ago, respectively.
National Statistician Dennis Mapa told reporters that the increase was largely driven by young people entering the labor market but not finding work.
“More people joined the labor market, but not all of them were able to find jobs,” he said in a briefing.
The labor force participation rate among Filipinos aged 15 to 24 was unchanged month on month at 33.7 percent but rose from 29.5 percent a year earlier. Employment among the youth, meanwhile, fell to 81.4 percent from 86. 5 percent in June and 81.9 percent in July 2025.
The July jobs data, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement, “show both progress and challenge.” “More Filipinos are participating in the labor market, which means that we need to intensify efforts to attract investments, especially those that create quality jobs,” he added.
The overall labor force participation rate was 63.6 percent, lower than the 65.1 percent in June but higher than the 60.7 percent in July 2025.
Underemployment — which counts as those looking for more work or an extra job — posted an uptick of 12.9 percent from 12.1 percent a month earlier but fell from the year-ago 14.8 percent.
Employment declined to 94.0 percent from 95.1 percent and 94.7 percent a month and year earlier, respectively.
Services continued to account for the biggest share of employment at 62.8 percent, followed by agriculture (19.7 percent) and industry (17.5 percent).
Wage and salary workers comprised the bulk of the workforce at 66.1 percent. Of their number, 78.3 percent were employed in the private sector while 14.6 percent were in government.
Agriculture and forestry recorded the biggest increase in jobs, adding 1.03 million workers year on year in July as employment recovered after the sector lost 1.4 million jobs last year due to typhoons and monsoon rains.
Employment fell mainly in manufacturing, which shed 134,000 jobs.
Commenting on the July results, Chinabank Research warned that data moving forward could worsen.
“Adverse weather and flooding will weigh on employment, as they disrupt business operations and limit workers’ ability to report for work,” it said.
“With monsoon rains battering Luzon for over a month now, we expect softer labor data in August, particularly in weather-sensitive sectors like agriculture and construction as well as brick-and-mortar retail businesses that may be affected by reduced consumer mobility.” The weaker job market could also affect wage policy, Chinabank said.
With an P85 per day Metro Manila minimum wage hike still under a temporary restraining order, it said that high unemployment could factor into upcoming wage-setting decisions in other regions.
“Given the increasingly challenging labor market, we expect a more cautious approach to succeeding minimum wage adjustments,” Chinabank said.
