THE Philippine labor market showed continued strength and resilience in March 2025, with key indicators remaining largely stable compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
The country’s employment rate held steady at 96.1 percent in March 2025, matching the rate in March 2024, indicating sustained job creation.
Similarly, the unemployment rate remained low at 3.9 percent, unchanged from the previous year. This brings the year-to-date average unemployment rate to four percent, falling below the government’s target range of 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent for 2025 outlined in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023–2028.
While the employment and unemployment rates remained stable, the PSA reported a slight decrease in the number of employed persons to 48.02 million in March 2025, down from 49.15 million in both March 2024 and February 2025.
The labor force participation rate (LFPR) also saw a dip to 62.9 percent in March 2025, lower than the 65.3 percent in March 2024 and 64.5 percent in February 2025.
The underemployment rate, which reflects the proportion of employed individuals seeking additional work, increased to 13.4 percent in March 2025, up from 11 percent in March 2024 and 10.1 percent in February 2025, suggesting a potential rise in the desire for more work or longer hours among the employed.
While acknowledging the steady labor indicators, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, in a statement, emphasized the government’s commitment to continuous job growth and aligning the workforce with global standards through expanded upskilling and reskilling opportunities.
By broad industry group, the services sector continued to be the largest employer, accounting for 62 percent of the employed population in March 2025, followed by agriculture (20.1 percent) and industry (17.9 percent).
The PSA highlighted that the steady employment figures were mainly driven by job gains in sub-sectors such as education, administrative and support service activities, fishing and aquaculture, arts, entertainment and recreation and human health and social work activities.
However, significant annual decreases in employment were noted in agriculture and forestry, public administration and defense, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and professional, scientific and technical activities.
Wage and salary workers continued to constitute the majority of the employed, at 63.4 percent, with the largest share (78.1 percent) working in private establishments.
Meanwhile, the government has launched the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Plan, a 10-year employment master plan aiming to reduce unemployment to three percent and underemployment to seven to nine percent by 2034.
This plan focuses on job creation, labor market transformation inclusive workforce development, emphasizing the crucial role of the private sector in these efforts.
The government, through the Department of Labor and Employment and the Technical Education, Skills and Development Authority, is also actively enhancing training programs in high-demand sectors and forging international partnerships to align technical vocational education with global benchmarks, preparing the workforce for future demands. Furthermore, investments in high-impact sectors and technology adoption are being pursued through the Create More Act. / KOC