The Philippine unemployment rate eased to 4.7% in April 2026, down from 5.0% in March, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The latest figures show that about 2.41 million Filipinos were unemployed in April, lower than the 2.58 million recorded in the previous month.

(Photo courtesy: Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA))

The decline suggests some recovery in job availability even as the country continues to face challenges, including higher living costs and energy crisis.

Employment also improved slightly during the period. The PSA reported that the employment rate reached 95.3% in April 2026, equivalent to 48.89 million Filipinos with jobs.

Despite the monthly improvement, unemployment remains higher compared with 4.1% recorded in April 2025, indicating that the labor market is still recovering on a year-on-year basis.

Underemployment, meanwhile, rose to 15.2% in April 2026, up from 14.6% in the same month last year.

This translates to about 7.41 million employed Filipinos who expressed a desire for additional work hours, a second job, or a better-quality job with longer working hours.