Philippines Unemployment Rate Hits 6%, Highest in Over 4 Years Amid Youth Job Struggles

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ unemployment rate rose to 6% in July 2026, the highest in more than four years, as 3.14 million Filipinos were left without work. The July unemployment rate was higher than the 4.9% recorded in June 2026 and the 5.3% in July 2025, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday, September 8. The last time unemployment was this high was in June 2022, when the rate was also 6%. In terms of actual people without jobs, July’s 3.14 million was the highest since December 2021, when the figure reached around 3.28 million. National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the increase was driven in large part by more Filipinos — particularly young people — joining the labor market but finding too few jobs available. The labor force grew by 3.71 million from July 2025, including 1.33 million additional participants 15 to 24 years old, an age group that includes many Filipinos transitioning from school into work. “Dumami ang nag-join sa labor market at hindi lahat na-absorb (More people joined the labor market, and not everyone was absorbed),” Mapa said. The problem was particularly pronounced in the National Capital Region, which posted the country’s highest unemployment rate at 8.2%. Around 731,000 Filipinos aged 15 to 24 participated in NCR’s labor market in July, but only around 532,000 of them were employed. That left about 199,000 young labor force participants without work in the capital region, according to Mapa. He added that the timing of young Filipinos transitioning to work, alongside possible weather-related disruptions, may have contributed to NCR’s unusually high unemployment. Mapa also said the difficulty absorbing new workers was generally related to the weakness of the economy. Companies tend to hire as they expand, but slower expansion makes it harder for job creation to keep pace with new workers entering the workforce. “Definitely may relationship ito doon sa ating growth ng economy, particularly doon sa investment,” Mapa said. “Nakita naman natin in the past two quarters na doon ang mahina ‘yung ating growth rate.” (Definitely, there’s a relationship with the growth of the economy, particularly in investment. We saw that in the two quarters, that’s where our growth rate has been weak.) The Philippine economy grew just 2.8% year-on-year in the first quarter, before slowing further to a dismal 2.3% in Q2 2026. Even the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) acknowledged the weakness in the latest numbers, describing the results as “mixed” and saying the country needed to create more quality jobs. “These figures show both progress and challenge. More Filipinos are participating in the labor market, which means that we need to intensify efforts to attract investments, especially those that create quality jobs,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement. Still, some labor indicators improved from a year earlier. Underemployment fell to 12.9% from 14.8% in July 2025, although this still meant 6.33 million employed Filipinos wanted additional hours of work or another job. DEPDev said the government would focus on attracting investment, helping small businesses adopt technology, expanding worker training, and improving pathways into formal employment. – Rappler.com