Philippine Unemployment Drops to 1.94 Million in February 2025, Job Quality Also Improves

The number of unemployed Filipinos dropped to 1.94 million in February 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), fueled by election-related employment and dry season activities. This marked a decrease of 228,000 from January’s 2.16 million, bringing the national unemployment rate down to 3.8% from 4.3%.

Out of 51.09 million individuals in the labor force, the 3.8% unemployment rate reflects that only 38 out of every 1,000 Filipinos were jobless during the period.

The employment rate also improved, with 49.15 million Filipinos employed in February—up by 668,000 from the previous month. Job growth was largely driven by the accommodation and food service sector (+377,000), political and campaign-related work (+41,000), and upcoming summer-related activities.

The services sector continued to dominate the job market with a 61.6% share, followed by agriculture (20.1%) and industry (18.3%).

Top job-gaining sub-sectors included:

• Wholesale/retail trade and vehicle repair (+620,000)

• Construction (+434,000)

• Manufacturing (+225,000)

• Public administration and defense (+191,000)

• Fishing and aquaculture (+147,000)

However, job losses were observed in:

• Agriculture and forestry (-520,000)

• Administrative services (-308,000)

• Transportation and storage (-176,000)

• Professional and technical services (-90,000)

• Information and communication (-89,000)

Wage and salary workers made up the largest share of employed persons at 63.2%, with 77.3% of them working in private establishments.

Underemployment Also Falls

The number of underemployed Filipinos—those looking for more or better work—dropped significantly from 6.47 million in January to 4.96 million in February, bringing the underemployment rate down to 10.1%.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan highlighted that full-time employment increased by 1.7 million, and jobs in mid- to high-skill occupations grew by 1.1 million.

Future Plans and Job Initiatives

The government plans to fast-track high-impact job-generating infrastructure projects in transport, energy, and digital connectivity. It also aims to promote lifelong learning through the Lifelong Learning Development Framework and roll out the Trabaho Para Sa Bayan (TPB) Plan 2025–2034, which outlines strategies to enhance workforce skills, encourage tech adoption, and improve labor market governance.