Jobless Pinoys declined to 1.96M in September 2025 — PSA

Unemployed Filipinos decreased to 1.96 million in September 2025 from the 2.03 million record in August 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) released on Thursday.

However, PSA chief and national statistician Claire Dennis Mapa noted that the latest number of jobless Filipinos was higher compared to the 1.89 million record in the same period last year.

“Ang unemployed persons o bilang ng nasa labor force na walang trabaho o negosyo nitong Setyembre ay nasa 1.96 million,” Mapa said at a press conference.

(The number of unemployed persons this September is 1.96 million.)

“Ito ay mas mataas kumpara sa naitalang bilang ng unemployed persons noong Setyembre 2024 na nasa 1.89 milyon, ngunit mas mababa naman kumpara noong Agosto 2025 na nasa 2.03 milyon,” he added.

(This is higher compared to the number of unemployed persons in September 2024 which was at 1.89 million, but is lower compared to August 2025 which was at 2.03 million.) 

The unemployment rate in September 2025 was at 3.8%, which means 38 of 1,000 people in the labor force had no jobs or businesses.

This is lower compared to the August 2025 record at 3.9% but slightly higher compared to the September 2024 record at 3.7%

The labor force participation rate in September 2025 dropped to 64.5% from the 65.1% record in August 2025. This is also lower compared to the labor force participation rate of 65.7% in September 2024.

Employed individuals

Mapa said the number of employed persons in September 2025 was 49.60 million, which is 494,000 lower compared to the August 2025 record and 270,000 lower compared to the September 2024 record.

The biggest gainer in labor force among industries in September 2025 was the construction sector with 507,000 more employed persons.

“Ang mga subsectors na may pinakamalaking pagtaas sa bilang ng may trabaho o negosyo ay ang mga sumusunod. Nasa construction, may dagdag na 514,000,” Maps said.

(The subsectors with the largest increase in the number of employed or businesses are the following. In construction, there was an increase of 514,000.)

“Ang may pinakamalaking pagtaas sa bilang ng employed ay mula sa construction of buildings, plumbing, heat and air conditioning installation at construction of utility projects,” he added.

(The largest increase in the number of employed is from the construction of buildings, plumbing, heat and air conditioning installation and construction of utility projects.)

The top five sectors with the highest number of increases in employed persons in September 2025 are the following:

• construction - 514,000 additional employed workers
• fishing and aquaculture - 313,000
• accommodation and food service - P307,000
• human health and social work - 183,000
• agriculture and forestry - 126,000

Most of the total employment in September 2025 came from the services sector with 61.3% share, followed by the agricultural sector with 20.9% share and the industry sector with 17.8% share.

Meanwhile, the underemployed people in September 2025 was 5.52 million, which is 142,000 higher compared to the August 2025 record but 421,000 lower compared to the September 2024 record.

The underemployment rate in September 2025 was at 11.1%, which is higher compared to the 10.7% record in August 2025 but lower compared to the 11.9% record in September 2024. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News