MANILA, Philippines — Fewer Filipinos had jobs in March 2025 compared to the same period last year and the previous month, even as the country’s unemployment rate remained unchanged, data released Wednesday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

In its data, the PSA said the number of employed Filipinos dropped to 48.02 million in March 2025—1.13 million fewer than the 49.15 million reported in both March 2024 and February 2025. 

Despite this dip, the employment rate stayed at 96.1 percent, mirroring the rate posted in March 2024. In February 2025, the figure was slightly higher at 96.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 3.9 percent, consistent with March 2024 but slightly up from 3.8 percent in February this year. In absolute terms, 1.93 million Filipinos were jobless in March 2025—down from 2.00 million a year ago and marginally lower than the 1.94 million in February, it said.

National statistician Dennis Mapa likewise said that the drag came from the labor force participation rate (LFPR), which fell to 62.9 percent—its lowest in over a year—suggesting fewer Filipinos aged 15 and above were working or actively seeking jobs. 

This translates to 49.96 million people in the labor force in March, a decline from 51.15 million in March 2024 and 51.09 million in February 2025, he said..

Underemployment rate upticks

At the same time, more workers expressed dissatisfaction with their current job situations. The underemployment rate—which tracks employed individuals looking for more working hours or an additional job—jumped to 13.4 percent, from 11.0 percent in March 2024 and 10.1 percent in February. This means 6.44 million of the employed were seeking better job conditions.

Despite these challenges, average weekly hours worked ticked up to 41.2 hours, from 40.7 hours in March 2024 and 41.1 hours in February 2025.

The services sector remained the economy’s backbone, accounting for 62.0 percent of all employed Filipinos. The agriculture and industry sectors made up 20.1 percent and 17.9 percent, respectively.

The statistics bureau said that some industries showed resilience. The biggest annual employment gains came from:

• Education (+210,000),
• Administrative and support services (+145,000),
• Fishing and aquaculture (+138,000),
• Arts and entertainment (+91,000), and
• Health and social work (+51,000).

However, these gains were offset by steep job losses in major sectors, including:

• Agriculture and forestry (-609,000),
• Public administration and defense (-394,000),
• Manufacturing (-281,000),
• Wholesale and retail trade (-175,000), and
• Professional and technical services (-100,000).

Month-on-month, some sectors still managed to expand. Jobs in administrative support, education, and manufacturingsaw notable gains. But sectors like construction (-473,000) and retail trade (-439,000) saw steep declines from February to March 2025.