The Philippines’ unemployment rate slightly declined to 5.0% in March 2026 from 5.1 percent in February, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
This translates to an estimated 2.58 million jobless Filipinos, lower than the 2.66 million recorded in the previous month.
However, the figure remains significantly higher compared to the 1.93 million unemployed individuals logged in March 2025, when the unemployment rate was at 3.9%.
Despite the marginal improvement on a monthly basis, the latest data shows that labor market conditions have not yet returned to last year’s levels.
Meanwhile, the country’s employment rate stood at 95.0% in March 2026, equivalent to about 49.07 million Filipinos with jobs or businesses. This is slightly higher than the 94.9% recorded in February 2026 but lower than the 96.1% posted in March 2025.
In terms of absolute numbers, employment rose compared to March 2025’s 48.02 million employed persons, but declined from 49.43 million recorded in February this year.
The labor force participation rate (LFPR) in March 2026 was estimated at 63.3%, representing around 51.65 million Filipinos aged 15 years and older who were either employed or actively seeking work. This is higher than the 62.9% recorded in March 2025 but slightly below the 63.8% posted in February 2026.
“The March 2026 LFPR translates to a total of 51.65 million Filipinos aged 15 years and over who were in the labor force. In comparison, the labor force population stood at 49.95 million in March 2025 and 52.09 million in February 2026,” the PSA report read.
The PSA also reported that underemployment — or the proportion of employed persons seeking additional work or longer hours — was recorded at 12.3% in March 2026. This is an improvement from 13.4% in March 2025 but an increase from 11.8 percent in February 2026.
In terms of magnitude, about 6.03 million employed Filipinos expressed the need for additional work. Of this number, 59.5 percent were considered visibly underemployed, working less than 40 hours per week or not working during the reference period, while 40.5 percent were classified as invisibly underemployed, working 40 hours or more but still seeking more work.
