Assessment of the country’s unemployment statistics

The latest report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shows an improvement in the unemployment rate, down from 4.3 percent in January 2025 to 3.8 percent of the total in February 2025. Good news, if the data are accurate. It helps brighten our murky days made gloomier by inane political wranglings around us.

With 50.5 million in the active workforce in February 2024 and 1.5 million more joining the labor force in 2025, we have an estimated 52 million total workforce in the country today. As of February 2025, the PSA reported that 1.94 million Filipinos were jobless. If accurate, does it mean that the rest of the 50 million have at least modicum capabilities to feed their families either as employed or in self-help ventures?

PSA records show that of the 1,246,373 business enterprises operating in the country, 99.63 percent are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which generate 6.4 million jobs. The large firms total 4,640 and employ 3.1 million. This means only 9.5 million are gainfully employed in these firms. The rest of the 41 million workforce eke out a living on their own as sidewalk vendors, hawkers, etc.

The PSA statistics of 1.94 million unemployed do not explain to the ordinary mind why the Social Weather Stations survey in December 2024 showed that an alarming 25.9 percent of Filipinos (or around 30 million individuals) have experienced hunger. The Productivity Commission, a National Economic and Development Authority arm, should help validate this.

Republic Act No. 6971, or the Productivity Act of 1990, needs a thorough review by the Productivity Commission to focus on promoting productivity among MSMEs to increase their revenue generation and ensure that their workers earn commensurate productivity bonuses as incentives. Their number and potential to grow and hire are enormous if the right tax incentives are provided for them.

Why RA 6971 is not succeeding after 30 years is proof that it needs a clinical review.