THE number of jobless Filipinos slightly decreased in June 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday, August 6, 2025.
In a report, the PSA said that as of June 2025, the number of Filipinos aged 15 and over who were in the labor force increased to 52.42 million, translating to a 65.7 percent labor force participation rate (LFPR).
The LFPR in May 2025 was 65.8 percent, and 66.0 percent in the same month in 2024.
Of those in the labor force, 96.3 percent, or 50.47 million individuals, were employed, while 3.7 percent, or 1.95 million, were jobless.
In May 2025, the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, while the employment rate was 96.1 percent.
In June last year, the employment and unemployment rates were 96.9 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.
The PSA also noted that the proportion of individuals aged 15 to 24 considered as “youth” in the labor force declined to 33.1 percent in June 2025, from 33.7 percent in June 2024 and 33.6 percent in May 2025.
The underemployment rate was estimated at 11.4 percent, lower than both the underemployment rate in May 2025 and in June 2024, which were both at 12.1 percent.
Underemployed individuals are those who are employed but expressed a desire to have additional hours of work in their current job, to take on an additional job, or to find a new job with longer working hours.
The PSA said the services sector continued to have the highest share of employment, accounting for 61.4 percent of the total employed persons in June 2025, followed by agriculture at 20.9 percent, and industry at 17.7 percent.
By subsector, the top three with the highest employment were: wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (21.5 percent), agriculture and forestry (17.7 percent), and construction (10.1 percent).
The agency also recorded an annual increase in the number of employed individuals in the following subsectors: fishing and aquaculture; wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; financial and insurance activities; transportation and storage; and human health and social work activities.
Employment also declined in construction; agriculture and forestry; manufacturing; arts, entertainment and recreation; and mining and quarrying. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)