Unemployment in the Philippines dropped to 4.3 percent in January 2025, with 2.16 million jobless individuals, from 4.5 percent in January last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said today.
Compared with the month earlier, however, the January unemployment rate rose from 3.1 percent in December, with 1.63 million Filipinos unemployed during the last month of 2024.
The number of jobless Filipinos rose by more than half a million in January from December, reflecting the end of seasonal employment during the Christmas season when demand for temporary workers typically surges, the PSA said.
“Maybe we can relate this (month-on-month increase in unemployment) to the Christmas season because, in December, we naturally expect a higher demand for workers, leading to a higher employment rate and an increase in the number of employed individuals. This is usually the trend—if you look at the data series, that’s really how it goes. The number of employed workers shoots up in December and then suddenly drops in January because the demand for workers decreases after the holiday season,” PSA Deputy National Statistician Divina Grace del Prado said in a press briefing in Quezon City today.
Employment rate
The country’s employment rate, on the other hand, stood at 95.7 percent in January, with 48.49 million Filipinos having jobs during the period, PSA data showed.
In December last year, the employment rate was higher at 96.9 percent, with 50.19 million Filipinos employed. Earlier that year, in January, the employment rate was 95.5 percent, with 45.9 Filipinos having jobs.
