Over two million Filipinos were reported jobless for the month of December 2025 with the unemployment rate landing at 4.4%, according to a business news report by the Manila Bulletin.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the business news report of Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…
The country’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.4 percent in December 2025 from the previous month, but underlying labor market data pointed to emerging softness as the number of jobless Filipinos continued to rise.
The latest preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released Friday, Feb. 6, showed that around 2.26 million Filipinos were unemployed in December, up sharply from 1.63 million during the same month in 2024 and slightly higher than the 2.25 million recorded in November.
The increase came alongside a labor force participation rate of 64.4 percent, translating to about 51.69 million Filipinos aged 15 and above who were either employed or actively seeking work.
The employment rate settled at 95.6 percent for the month, down from 96.9 percent in December 2024, while the underemployment rate fell to a single-digit eight percent in December—the lowest on record, National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa noted at a press briefing. The last time that underemployment reached a single-digit rate was in May 2024, when it stood at 9.9 percent.
For full-year 2025, the employment rate slipped to 95.8 percent from 96.2 percent in 2024, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 percent from 3.8 percent. Underemployment held steady at 11.9 percent, the same level recorded in 2024.
Mapa attributed the year-on-year increase in unemployment primarily to the construction sector, which reportedly shed 550,000 jobs.
He noted that weak growth in construction—particularly public construction—was the main driver of the rise in unemployment. The sector further declined in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the third quarter.
Reductions in employment were also observed in transportation and storage (258,000), fishing and aquaculture (258,000), and manufacturing (255,000), but Mapa emphasized that construction accounted for the largest impact.
While employment grew by around 172,000 in 2025 compared with 2024, Mapa said this was the lowest annual increase in the past three years, excluding the pandemic years.
He noted that employment had risen by 1.29 million in 2023 compared with 2022 and by 664,000 in 2024 compared with 2023, highlighting a clear downward trend.
The slowdown was largely due to the construction sector contributing fewer workers compared with previous years, as reduced public construction activity translated into lower employment.
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think unemployment all over the Philippines will gradually get worse over the next twelve months? If the economic growth of the Philippines weakens further, do you think job opportunities will be reduced?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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