MANILA — The Philippines’ unemployment rate rose to 3.7 percent in June 2025, the highest level in a year, according to the latest Labor Force Survey released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The figure represents an increase from the 3.1 percent unemployment rate recorded in June 2024, but marks a slight improvement from 3.9 percent in May 2025.

In terms of absolute numbers, 1.95 million Filipinos were unemployed in June 2025 — higher than the 1.62 million jobless persons reported in the same period last year. However, it was lower compared to the 2.03 million unemployed individuals recorded the previous month.

Despite the increase in joblessness, total labor force participation climbed to a record high of 52.42 million Filipinos aged 15 and older, though the labor force participation rate slightly dipped to 65.7 percent from 66.0 percent in June 2024.

The country’s employment rate in June stood at 96.3 percent, down from 96.9 percent a year ago but marginally up from 96.1 percent in May.

The PSA also reported that underemployment — or the share of employed individuals seeking additional work hours or jobs — dropped to 11.4 percent from 12.1 percent in June 2024 and 13.1 percent in May 2025. This translates to about 5.76 million underemployed persons in June.

Among the top five subsectors that registered the biggest year-on-year declines in employment were:

• Construction (-692,000),
• Agriculture and forestry (-580,000),
• Manufacturing (-424,000),
• Arts, entertainment and recreation (-218,000), and
• Mining and quarrying (-96,000).

The data suggest persistent volatility in key employment-generating sectors even as the labor force continues to expand, with PSA noting changes in employment trends both year-on-year and month-on-month.