MANILA, Philippines — Around 1.94 million Filipinos were recorded as unemployed in February 2025, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). 

This is higher than the 1.80 million unemployed persons recorded in the same month last year.

According to its data released Tuesday, the unemployment rate stood at 3.8 percent in February 2025, up from 3.5 percent in February 2024 but lower than 4.3 percent in January 2025.

The PSA also reported that the employment rate in February was 96.2 percent, slightly lower than the 96.5 percent recorded in February 2024, but higher than 95.7 percent in January 2025.

In terms of levels, the number of employed persons in February 2025 was estimated at 49.15 million, an increase from 48.95 million in February 2024 and 48.49 million in January 2025.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR) in February was estimated at 64.5 percent, slightly lower than 64.8 percentin the same period last year. This translates to 51.09 million Filipinos aged 15 and older who were either employed or actively seeking work.

Meanwhile, the underemployment rate declined to 10.1 percent in February 2025, from 12.4 percent in February 2024 and 13.3 percent in January 2025. In terms of magnitude, about 4.96 million employed persons said they were looking for additional work or longer hours.

It said that employed Filipinos worked an average of 41.1 hours per week in February 2025, higher than the 40.1 hours recorded in February 2024 and 40.4 hours in January 2025. About 73,000 workers were reported to have worked only one hour during the reference week in February.

The services sector remained the largest contributor to employment at 61.6 percent, followed by agriculture (20.1 percent) and industry (18.3 percent).

By sub-sector, the biggest annual increases in the number of employed persons were recorded in:

• Accommodation and food service activities (+377,000)
• Fishing and aquaculture (+365,000)
• Public administration and defense (+330,000)
• Construction (+258,000)
• Other service activities (+232,000)

Meanwhile, the largest annual declines in employment were seen in:

• Agriculture and forestry (-949,000)
• Administrative and support service activities (-201,000)
• Transportation and storage (-158,000)
• Wholesale and retail trade (-77,000)
• Professional, scientific, and technical activities (-68,000)

Month-on-month, the biggest increases in employment were in:

• Wholesale and retail trade (+620,000)
• Construction (+434,000)
• Manufacturing (+225,000)
• Public administration and defense (+191,000)
• Fishing and aquaculture (+147,000)

The largest drops from January to February were in:

• Agriculture and forestry (-520,000)
• Administrative and support service activities (-308,000)
• Transportation and storage (-176,000)
• Professional, scientific, and technical activities (-90,000)
• Information and communication (-89,000)

By class of worker, wage and salary workers made up 63.2 percent of total employed persons, followed by self-employed persons without paid employees (28.2 percent), unpaid family workers (6.6 percent), and employers in their own family-operated farm or business (2. Percent).

Among wage and salary workers, those in private establishments comprised 77.3 percent, followed by government or government-controlled corporations at 14.7 percent.