The number of jobless Filipinos reached its highest level since mid-2022, as a predictable post-Christmas slowdown drained employment gains from the previous months, official government data showed Friday.
The Philippine Statistics Authority recorded 2.96 million unemployed persons aged 15 and above in January 2026, a sharp rise from both the 2.26 million counted in December 2025 and the 2.17 million logged a year earlier. That translated to an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent — the steepest since June 2022, when the figure stood at 6.0 percent.
PSA Deputy National Statistician Divinia Gracia del Prado attributed the spike to a well-established seasonal pattern: companies ramp up hiring during the “ber” months to meet elevated consumer demand, then pull back sharply once the holiday period ends.
“That’s the common trend after the Christmas season, there is a decline in employment,” del Prado said.
Of the nearly 3 million without work, around 306,000 were actively looking for jobs without success, while another 196,000 were waiting on pending job applications.
Total employment also contracted, falling to 47.94 million in January 2026 from 49.43 million in December 2025 and 48.49 million in January 2025. The employment rate dropped to 94.2 percent, compared with 95.6 percent in December and 95.7 percent a year ago.
The services sector continued to anchor the labor market, accounting for 63.6 percent of all employed persons. Industry and agriculture followed at 18.3 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively. At the sub-sector level, wholesale and retail trade held the largest share at 19.3 percent, with agriculture and forestry at 15.7 percent and construction at 9.6 percent.
Year-on-year, agriculture and forestry recorded the steepest fall in employment with 1.42 million fewer workers, followed by wholesale and retail trade at 729,000. Gains were concentrated in administrative and support service activities, which added 403,000 workers, and public administration, which grew by 342,000.
Across employment types, wage and salary workers made up 68.8 percent of the total workforce, with private establishment employees accounting for 78.5 percent of that group. Self-employed workers without paid help represented 24.7 percent.
Regional disparities were stark. SOCCSKSARGEN posted the country’s highest employment rate at 96 percent, while the Bicol region recorded the lowest at 91.8 percent. Eight regions exceeded the national unemployment average of 5.8 percent, led by Bicol at 8.2 percent, Eastern Visayas at 7.7 percent, and Zamboanga Peninsula at 6.7 percent.
Underemployment edged slightly lower, with 6.35 million workers — or 13.2 percent of those employed — expressing a desire for more working hours or an additional job, compared to 13.3 percent in January 2025. Just over half of the underemployed, 51.6 percent, worked fewer than 40 hours weekly.
Department of Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said global instability had made a targeted government response essential.
“Given elevated geopolitical tensions and global uncertainties, strategic policies are needed to bolster labor market resilience. The government continues to pursue a comprehensive response to support affected workers in the short term while fostering a dynamic and robust labor market in the medium and long term,” Balisacan said.
He said short-term relief measures include fuel subsidies for transport operators, farmers, and fisherfolk, emergency employment assistance programs, and support for repatriated OFWs returning from conflict-affected areas in the Middle East. On the structural side, Balisacan pointed to TESDA’s newly launched Skills Passport as a tool to match job seekers with higher-value employment opportunities.
“Our priority is clear: create more and better jobs at home, strengthen industries, equip our workers with the skills needed for higher-value employment, and ensure that those affected by global disruptions, including OFWs, can transition smoothly into productive opportunities here in the Philippines,” Balisacan said.
