Jobless rate down to 4.4% in November
The Philippine labor market regained some modest footing heading into the holiday season in November, as unemployment eased from the previous month’s near-record high, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday.
Latest data from PSA’s Labor Force Survey showed that the unemployment rate in November had dipped slightly to 4.4 percent, translating to 2.25 million jobless Filipinos.
This is down from 5 percent, or 2.59 million unemployed, in October, which was near the postpandemic-era high of 5.3 percent recorded in July.
The modest improvement came as the employment rate rose to 95.6 percent, equivalent to roughly 49.26 million people, up from 95 percent, or 48.62 million, in the previous month.
Labor force participation also inched higher, reaching 64 percent, or 51.52 million Filipinos, in November, compared with 63.6 percent, or 51.16 million, in October.
Despite the holiday season, which is typically expected to boost employment, the gains were only modest. State statisticians attributed the weak rise to some sectors falling short of expectations, as Typhoon “Tino” and Supertyphoon “Uwan” in November had limited economic activity.
The accommodation and food services sector, as well as the wholesale and retail trade sector, saw the largest declines in employment, with 309,000 fewer workers in the former and 258,000 fewer in the latter.
According to economists at Chinabank, the labor market figures will likely show more signs of recovery heading into December and 2026.
“December might show better data with stronger holiday-driven demand, though this seasonal boost will likely wane this month (January). This year, we expect the labor market to remain generally robust and support a recovery in consumption growth,” Chinabank said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev) assured that the Marcos administration was “intensifying efforts” to cushion the blow of global and domestic headwinds, as well as climate-related disruptions, on the labor force.
“The government is prioritizing investments in skills development, lifelong learning and social protection systems to help workers transition across sectors and withstand economic shocks,” DepDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
“Strengthening workforce competitiveness is a key element in attracting investments that generate quality jobs,” he added.
Balisacan also noted that with the recent passage of the 2026 national budget, investments in job creation could help make the Philippine economy more resilient.
Challenges remain
Looking at the numbers year-on-year, however, unemployment in November 2025 was higher than last year’s 3.2 percent or 1.66 million jobless Filipinos.
Labor force participation, meanwhile, declined from 64.6 percent a year earlier.
Leonardo Lanzona, labor economist at the Ateneo de Manila University, said the labor market was likely facing challenges in generating enough jobs for active job seekers.
“Job creation was insufficient to absorb even a smaller pool of active job seekers, pointing to cautious firm behavior and slower employment expansion, leading to potential discouragement effects among workers,” Lanzona said.
He added that the figures suggested the country was not “fully leveraging its working-age population,” with a larger share of people in working ages remaining underutilized.
“Weak labor absorption indicates that population growth is not being converted into productive employment, undermining the realization of the demographic dividend and raising the risk of labor market congestion, informality and slower productivity growth,” he said.
