Philippines Unemployment Ticks Up as Fresh Graduates Face Job Market Squeeze; Agriculture, Fisheries Show Divergent Trends

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s unemployment rate inched up to 4.9% in June 2026 as a wave of fresh graduates entered the labor market, but nearly half of the new job seekers were unable to find work, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday, August 6. The latest rate was equivalent to 2.59 million Filipinos without jobs, higher than the 2.50 million recorded in May. It was also significantly higher than the 3.7% unemployment rate posted in June 2025. National Statistician Dennis Mapa said 650,000 Filipinos entered the labor force for the first time in June. Of these new entrants, 592,000 were aged 15 to 24, indicating that many were likely fresh graduates looking for their first jobs. Only 310,000 of these young entrants found employment, while 282,000 did not. Across all 650,000 new entrants, 328,000 found work and 322,000 remained unemployed. “So ang dagdag sa labor force natin noong June, fresh graduates ba (were most of the new additions to the labor force in June fresh graduates)? Yes, they are pointing to that,” Mapa said, referring to the large number of new entrants aged 15 to 24. This is also true more broadly as Mapa said unemployment increased because the labor force expanded faster than the economy could generate jobs. Around 822,000 more Filipinos participated in the labor market compared with June 2025, but employment grew by only about 184,000. The number of employed Filipinos stood at 50.66 million, while the labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Filipinos who were employed or looking for work, was 65.1%. Meanwhile, underemployment stood at 12.1%, representing 6.11 million workers who wanted additional hours of work or another job. The PSA attributed the largest employment month-on-month gains to agriculture and forestry, other service activities, public administration and defense as well as compulsory social security. Meanwhile, the steepest job losses came mostly from fishing and aquaculture, manufacturing, and mining and quarrying. Mapa said higher diesel prices directly affected some municipal marine fisherfolk, whose operating costs rise each time they take their boats out to sea. Fishing and aquaculture employment fell by around 467,000 from a year earlier, including losses in freshwater fishing, fishpond operations, and marine fishing. Mapa said fishing showed the clearest direct employment impact from the oil price increase. – Rappler.com