Underemployment jumps to 13.4%
The Philippine unemployment rate stood at 3.9 percent in March, up slightly from 3.8 percent in February but steady in March last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.
Underemployment, however, jumped to 13.4 percent in March from 10.1 percent in February and 11 percent in the year-earlier period, PSA data showed.
The underemployment rate in March 2025 is the highest since April 2024’s 14.6 percent.
1.93M jobless in March
While the percentages show a steady annual rate for unemployment, the actual number of jobless Filipinos eased to 1.93 million in March from 2 million a year earlier and 1.94 million in February 2025 since there were less Filipinos who joined the labor force in March.
“It is (a) combination of factors: the numbers a showed reduction in labor force participation in March 2025 versus March 2024 … but there were sectors showing an increase in employment, such as education,
administrative and support service activities and fishing and aquaculture,” PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa told Malaya Business Insight.
The labor force participation rate (LFPR) declined to 62.9 percent in March 2025, the lowest since January 2024’s 61.1 percent, with 49.96 millions Filipinos 15 years old and above joining the labor force.
In March 2024, the LFPR was 65.3 percent, or 51.15 million active participants in the labor force, while 64.5 percent or 51.09 million Filipinos were part of the labor force in February 2025.
Employment rate
The country’s employment rate remained steady at 96.1 percent in March 2025 from the year-earlier level, but inched down from February’s 96.2 percent.
The actual number of Filipinos with jobs, however, declined to 48.02 million from 49.15 million in March 2024.
School and household responsibilities were the primary reasons why individuals were not actively seeking employment, the PSA said.
“In March 2025, we observed a substantial number of individuals choosing to return to school. This means they chose to forego for the meantime opportunities in the labor market to continue their studies,” Mapa said in a press conference in Quezon City on Wednesday.
“We saw an increase in the number of people citing schooling as their reason for being outside the labor force, an increase of about 816,000, which is quite significant,” he said.
“The second major reason was household family duties,” Mapa added.
Regarding the year-on-year drop in employment, Mapa said two sectors contributed significantly.
“First was agriculture and forestry, which saw a decline of around 609,000 workers. Second, we noticed a large decline in public administration and defense, compulsory social security, with a reduction of 394,000 workers,” Mapa said.
“We feel this was affected by the election ban,” he added, referring to the temporary ban on the hiring of government employees during the campaign period for the midterm elections on May 12.
Underemployment jumps
The number of underemployed Filipinos, or those seeking additional working hours, rose sharply in March 2025, increasing by over 1 million—both month-on-month and year-on-year—to reach 6.44 million.
In the same period last year, there were 5.39 million underemployed individuals, 4 .96 million underemployed Filipinos were recorded in February 2025.
Mapa said the biggest contributor to this increase is invisible underemployment, or Filipinos who are considered underemployed even if they already work at least 40 hours a week, as they are still seeking additional working hours or jobs with higher pay.
“There is no specific sector that dominated this increase, it is spread out in different sub-sectors,” Mapa said.
Sectors that contributed to the increase in underemployment, Mapa said, are building construction; wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; public administration and defense; compulsory social security; other service activities; and administrative and support service activities.
Job-generation plan
In a separate statement, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said the government’s recently launched 10-year Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) Plan comes at a critical time.
“The latest employment figures highlight the need for a comprehensive set of interventions to increase investments, encourage technology adoption, improve job satisfaction and employment quality. The TPB Plan will serve as our strategic roadmap toward building resilient employment, fostering competitive enterprises, and preparing a future-ready workforce,” DEPDev Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon said.
The TPB Plan is the country’s first 10-year Labor Market Development Plan, a long-term strategic framework for job creation, labor market transformation and inclusive workforce development.
“In response to the rapidly growing demand for specialized skills, the government, through the TPB Plan, is expanding access to upskilling and reskilling opportunities for Filipino workers. These initiatives are crucial to addressing skills shortages and aligning the Philippine labor market with global workforce standards,” Edillon said.
To encourage greater labor force participation, Edillon stressed the need to promote inclusive and flexible work arrangements.
This may involve revisiting existing policy frameworks to support alternative work arrangements such as part-time and output-based employment.
She also highlighted the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program Act, which enables professionals to earn a college degree through a comprehensive, competency-based assessment. This initiative supports lifelong learning and provides new pathways for career advancement.
“Our collective task now is to translate this (TPB) Plan into concrete action — guided by data, informed by social dialogue and driven by a shared purpose,” Edillon said.
