550,000 more Filipinos jobless in July as unemployment hit 6%, PSA says

The number of jobless Filipinos increased by more than 500,000 in July, bringing the unemployment rate up to 6.0% from 4.9% a month earlier, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday showed.

Results of the July Labor Force Survey showed 3.14 million unemployed Filipinos in July, 550,000 higher than the 2.59 million recorded in June and 2.59 million in the same month last year.

This is the highest number of jobless Filipinos since December 2021, when 3.284 million were unemployed, equivalent to an unemployment rate of 6.6% when select COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were still in place.

This brought the unemployment rate to 6.0%, up from 4.9% in June and 5.3% a year ago. The rate is the highest in four years since 6.4% in January and February 2022, and matched the 6.0% recorded in May and June 2022.

National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa noted changes in labor force participation, which stood at 63.6% in July, equivalent to 52.36 million Filipinos aged 15 years and over in the labor force, as individuals transitioned from schooling to work.

The July participation rate was higher than the 60.7% recorded a year earlier but lower than the 65.1% in June, when 53.25 million Filipinos were in the labor force.

“Unfortunately, hindi lahat ay naempleyo (not all were employed),” he said, noting that employment was the lowest in the National Capital Region (NCR), the country’s capital, during the month.

There were 49.21 million employed Filipinos in July, down from 50.66 million in June but up from 46.05 million a year ago. The employment rate stood at 94.0%, lower than 95.1% in June and 94.7% last year.

The biggest year-on-year drop was in manufacturing, which declined to 3.42 million employed Filipinos from 3.56 million last year. Declines were recorded in food product manufacturing, printing-related services, and custom tailoring.

Declines were also seen in information and communication (-41,000); professional, scientific and technical activities (-28,000); water supply (-9,000); and financial and insurance activities (-7,000).

Employment was highest in the Davao Region at 96.1%, and lowest in NCR at 91.8%.

Employed Filipinos worked an average of 40.6 hours in July, down from 42.0 hours last year. About 59,000 or 0.12% worked exactly one hour in July, up from 41,000 or 0.09% a year ago.

Out of those employed, 6.33 million said they wanted additional hours, an extra job, or a new job with longer working hours, equivalent to an underemployment rate of 12.9%.

This was higher than the 12.1% recorded in June, when 6.11 million Filipinos were underemployed, but lower than the 14.8% recorded in July 2025, when 6.80 million were underemployed.

Of the total underemployed, 56.7% worked less than 40 hours in a week, including those who did not work during the month. Some 43.3% worked 40 hours or more in a week.

Responses for the July survey were collected from July 8 to 31, 2026, with 44,811 total sample households and 126,324 total sample individuals 15 years old and over. — KG/RSJ, GMA News