Jobless Pinoys climb to 2.86 million

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November 7, 2026 | 12:00am

Unemployment rate up to 5.4 percent in September

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s unemployment rate went up in September as more Filipinos joined the labor force but were unable to secure jobs, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Results of the Labor Force Survey released by the PSA yesterday showed that the jobless rate in September rose slightly to 5.4 percent from 5.3 percent in the previous month. It was also higher than the 3.8 percent rate in the same month last year.

This translated to 2.86 million jobless Filipinos in September, higher than the 2.77 million in the previous month and the 1.96 million posted in the same month in 2025.

In a press conference,
National Statistician Dennis Mapa said that job creation is unable to keep pace with the increase in labor force participation.

The employment rate declined to 94.6 percent in September from 94.7 percent in the previous month and from 96.2 percent in the same month last year.

An estimated 50.32 million Filipinos were employed in September, higher than the previous month’s 49.79 million and the 49.60 million employed in September 2025.

The labor force participation rate was at 64.5 percent in September, higher than the previous month’s 64 percent, but unchanged from the rate recorded in September 2025.

This translates to 53.19 million Filipinos aged 15 years and over in the labor force in September, up from August’s 52.56 million and 51.56 million in September 2025.

Mapa said that of the 1.63 million new entrants to the labor market, 721,000 found employment, while 909,000 have no jobs.

“So more were added to the unemployed than the employed,” he said.

Underemployment declined to 11 percent in September from the previous month’s 11.9 percent and 11.1 percent in the same month last year.

This means there were 5.56 million Filipinos who wanted to have an additional job or work hours in September. This is down from 5.91 million in the previous month, but up from 5.52 million in September last year.

Employers Confederation of the Philippines president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a telephone interview that job creation has been limited as businesses adopt a wait-and-see stance amid challenging economic conditions.

“Firms are putting expansions on hold,” he said, adding this is affecting the availability of more jobs in the market.