The Philippines' unemployment rate rose to 5.4% in September 2026 from 5.3% in August, remaining significantly higher than the 3.8% recorded in the same month last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

The PSA estimated that 2.86 million Filipinos were unemployed in September, up from 2.77 million in August and 1.96 million in September 2025.

_{Key Labor and Employment Indicators from 2019 to 2026 via PSA}

Meanwhile, the country's employment rate slipped to 94.6% in September from 94.7% in August. It was also lower than the 96.2% recorded a year earlier.

Despite the lower employment rate, the number of employed Filipinos reached 50.32 million in September, higher than the 49.79 million recorded in August and 49.60 million in September 2025.

The latest figures show an increase in both employment and unemployment levels compared with the previous month and the same period last year.