MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ unemployment rate in April 2025 was estimated at 4.1 percent, a slight increase from 4.0 percent recorded in the same month last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.

This figure also marks a small improvement from January 2025, when the unemployment rate was posted at 4.3 percent.

The total number of unemployed individuals in April 2025 reached 2.06 million, slightly higher than the 2.04 million in April 2024 but lower than the 2.16 million recorded in January 2025.

Meanwhile, the employment rate in April 2025 was 95.9 percent, a marginal dip from 96.0 percent in April 2024, but a slight rise from 95.7 percent in January 2025. The total employed population was 48.67 million, up from 48.35 million in April 2024 and 48.49 million in January 2025.

The labor force participation rate (LFPR) in April 2025 was estimated at 63.7 percent, down from 64.1 percent in April 2024 and 63.9 percent in January 2025. This translates to 50.74 million Filipinos aged 15 years and older actively participating in the labor force.

Employed persons worked an average of 39.9 hours per week, slightly lower than 40.5 hours in April 2024 and 40.4 hours in January 2025. About 65,000 employed individuals worked for only one hour in April 2025, representing 0.13 percent of the employed population.

The underemployment rate remained steady at 14.6 percent in April 2025, unchanged from April 2024 but higher than the 13.3 percent recorded in January 2025. Approximately 7.09 million employed persons expressed the desire for additional work hours or jobs with longer hours.

By sector, services dominated employment with 61.9 percent of employed persons, followed by agriculture at 20.6 percent, and industry at 17.5 percent.

The sub-sectors with the largest annual employment increases were administrative and support services (394,000), public administration and defense (262,000), agriculture and forestry (260,000), construction (121,000), and education (66,000).

Conversely, manufacturing saw the largest annual decline with 410,000 fewer employed persons, followed by other service activities (-183,000), accommodation and food services (-141,000), arts and entertainment (-63,000), and wholesale and retail trade (-57,000).

Quarter-on-quarter, the biggest gains in employment from January to April 2025 were recorded in administrative and support services (320,000), public administration and defense (242,000), construction (214,000), wholesale and retail trade (140,000), and fishing and aquaculture (101,000). Declines were noted in agriculture and forestry (-324,000), other service activities (-137,000), accommodation and food services (-131,000), transportation and storage (-88,000), and financial and insurance activities (-86,000).

Wage and salary workers made up 63.2 percent of employed persons, followed by self-employed without paid employees at 28.0 percent, unpaid family workers at 6.8 percent, and employers in own family-operated businesses at 2.0 percent. Among wage earners, 78.1 percent were employed in private establishments, while 15.0 percent worked for government or government-controlled corporations.

Regionally, the Cordillera Administrative Region posted the highest employment rate at 97.8 percent, while Central Visayas recorded the lowest at 94.5 percent.