Unemployment edges up to 5.4% in September 2026

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ unemployment rate slightly rose to 5.4% in September 2026 as the number of Filipinos joining the labor force continued to outpace employment growth.

Around 2.86 million Filipinos were unemployed in September, up from 2.77 million in August, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Friday, November 6.

The latest figure is also much higher than the 3.8% unemployment rate recorded in September 2025, when around 1.96 million Filipinos were unemployed. This meant an additional 909,000 Filipinos were without jobs compared with a year before.

Part of the increase in unemployment is due to job creation lagging behind a growing pool of workers.

National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the country’s labor force grew by around 1.63 million year-on-year to 53.19 million in September. However, employment increased by only 721,000 to 50.32 million over the same time.

Most of the increase in labor force participation came from younger Filipinos aged 15 to 24, with around 988,000 more people in this age group joining the labor force compared with September 2025. Among them, not everyone found employment, with only 606,000 securing a job.

Despite the higher unemployment rate, several industries posted substantial employment gains.

Accommodation and food service activities recorded the largest year-on-year increase, adding around 834,000 workers. Mapa said much of the increase came from restaurants, mobile food services, and canteens, as part of more economic activity ahead of the Christmas season.

Transportation and storage added another 254,000 workers, while other service activities gained 174,000.

Construction, however, continued to weaken, losing around 271,000 workers year-on-year and another 416,000 compared with August alone.

Mapa attributed the decline partly to slowing government construction projects and higher construction material costs. Employment losses were particularly pronounced in the construction of buildings, electrical installation, and construction of utility projects.

The PSA also reported a substantial drop in employment of clerical support workers, which fell by 582,000 year-on-year, the largest decline among the major occupational groups.

Asked by Rappler about the decline, Mapa said around 289,000 of the reduction came from contact center information clerks, an occupational category that includes some business process outsourcing (BPO) employees.General office clerks accounted for another 149,000 of the decline. 

Underemployment, meanwhile, improved to 11% in September from 11.9% in August and 11.1% in September 2025. – Rappler.com