Unemployment Rate in Philippines increased to 5.30 percent in July from 3.70 percent in June of 2025. This dataset provides - Philippines Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In 2024, the youth unemployment rate in the Philippines was 6.59 percent. Between 1991 and 2024, the figure dropped by 2.52 percentage points, though the decline followed an uneven course rather than a steady trajectory.

Preliminary figures reflect that the underemployment rate in the Philippines was estimated to be about **** percent in 2024. The underemployment rate in the country was lowest in 2019. The underemployment rate refers to the total number of people employed who wanted additional work (wanted additional hours of work in their present job, or to have an additional job or a new job with longer working hours) as a percentage share of the total employed.

Abstract

The Labor Force Survey (LFS) aims to provide a quantitative framework for the preparation of plans and formulation of policies affecting the labor market. Specifically, the survey is designed to provide statistics on levels and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment for the country, as a whole, and for each of the administrative regions, including provinces and key cities.

Geographic coverage

National

Analysis unit

Individuals

Universe

Individuals 15 years and over.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sampling design of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) uses the sampling design of the 2003 Master Sample (MS) for Household Surveys that started July 2003.

Sampling Frame

As in most household surveys, the 2003 MS used an area sample design. The Enumeration Area Reference File (EARF) of the 2000 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) was utilized as sampling frame. The EARF contains the number of households by enumeration area (EA) in each barangay. This frame was used to form the primary sampling units (PSUs). With consideration of the period for which the 2003 MS will be in use, the PSUs were formed/defined as a barangay or a combination of barangays with at least 500 households.

Stratification Scheme

Startification involves the division of the entire population into non-overlapping subgroups called starta. Prior to sample selection, the PSUs in each domain were stratified as follows: 1) All large PSUs were treated as separate strata and were referred to as certainty selections (self-representing PSUs). A PSU was considered large if it has a large probability of selection. 2) All other PSUs were then stratified by province, highly urbanized city (HUC) and independent component city (ICC). 3) Within each province/HUC/ICC, the PSUs were further stratified or grouped with respect to some socio-economic variables that were related to poverty incidence. These variables were: (a) the proportion of strongly built houses (PSTRONG); (b) an indication of the proportion of households engaged in agriculture (AGRI); and (c) the per-capita income (PERCAPITA).

Sample Selection

To have some control over the subsample size, the PSUs were selected with probability proportional to some estimated measure of size. The size measure refers to the total number of households from the 2000 CPH. Because of the wide variation in PSU sizes, PSUs with selection probabilities greater than 1 were identified and were included in the sample as certainty selections.

At the second stage, enumeration areas (EAs) were selected within sampled PSUs, and at the third stage, housing units were selected within sampled EAs. Generally, all households in sampled housing units were enumerated, except for few cases when the number of households in a housing unit exceeds three. In which case, a sample of three households in a sampled housing unit was selected at random with equal probability.

An EA is defined as an area with discernable boundaries within barangays, consisting of about 150 contiguous households. These EAs were identified during the 2000 CPH. A housing unit is a structurally separate and independent place of abode which, by the way it has been constructed, converted, or arranged, is intended for habitation by a household

Sample Size

The 2003 Master Sample consist of a sample of 2,835 PSUs of which 330 were certainty PSUs and 2,505 were non certainty PSUs. The number of households for the 2000 CPH was used as measure of size. The entire MS was divided into four sub-samples or independent replicates, such as a quarter sample contains one fourth of the PSUs found in one replicate; a half-sample contains one-half of the PSUs in two replicates. Thus, the survey covers a nationwide sample of about 51,000 households deemed sufficient to measure the levels of employment and unemployment at the national and regional levels.

Strategy for non-response

Replacement of sample households within the sample housing units is allowed only if the listed sample households had moved out of the housing unit. Replacement should be the household currently residing in the sample housing unit previously occupied by the original sample.

Sampling deviation

Starting the July 2003 round of the Labor Force Survey, the generation of the labor force and employment statistics adopted the 2003 Master Sample Design. - Using this new master sample design, the number of samples increased from 41,000 to around 51,000 sample households.

• The province of Basilan is grouped under Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao while Isabela City (Basilan) is now grouped under Region IX. This is to adopt the regional grouping under Executive Order No.36.
• The 1992 four-digit code for Philippine Standard Occupational Classification (PSOC) and 1994 Philippine Standard Industry Classification (PSIC) were used in classifying the occupation and industry.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Philippines Unemployment: Grade Completed: Senior High School: Graduate data was reported at 242.000 Person th in Feb 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 237.000 Person th for Jan 2025. Philippines Unemployment: Grade Completed: Senior High School: Graduate data is updated monthly, averaging 190.000 Person th from Jan 2021 (Median) to Feb 2025, with 50 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 292.000 Person th in Jul 2024 and a record low of 107.000 Person th in Jun 2024. Philippines Unemployment: Grade Completed: Senior High School: Graduate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G032: Labour Force Survey: Unemployment: by Age and Class.

Based on the preliminary estimates for 2024, the unemployment rate in Metro Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) in the Philippines was at 4.8 percent, significantly lower than the previous year’s estimates. The region’s unemployment rate peaked in 2020 during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Which Metro Manila city has the highest unemployment rate? Valenzuela City had the highest unemployment rate among other cities in Metro Manila in 2022, which was estimated at 9.3 percent. This was followed by the cities of Caloocan and Malabon. Meanwhile, the capital city of Manila had an unemployment rate of about 8.6 percent. The region’s labor force participation rate has been steadily increasing since 2018, although it remains to have one of the lowest employment rates nationwide. Daily minimum wages in Metro Manila As of January 2025, workers in the non-agricultural industries in the National Capital Region (NCR) had a minimum wage of 608 Philippine pesos—the highest nationwide. Despite agriculture not being the leading industry in the region, workers in the agricultural plantation industries also had the same daily minimum wage. As of January 2024, the Philippines had one of the lowest minimum monthly wages in the Asia-Pacific region.

Philippines Unemployment Rate: Region XII: Soccsksargen data was reported at 3.600 % in Oct 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 3.300 % for Jul 2018. Philippines Unemployment Rate: Region XII: Soccsksargen data is updated quarterly, averaging 4.300 % from Jul 2004 (Median) to Oct 2018, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.800 % in Jul 2004 and a record low of 2.200 % in Jan 2015. Philippines Unemployment Rate: Region XII: Soccsksargen data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G014: Labour Force Survey: Unemployment Rate.

Region 12, or SOCCSKSARGEN, was estimated to have the highest underemployment rate in the Philippines at **** percent in 2024, which was three times the nationwide average. In contrast, Region XI, or the Davao Region, had the lowest underemployment rate in that year.

In 2023, roughly 2.2 million people were looking for employment registered under the PESO Employment Information System (PEIS) of the labor department in the Philippines. This was just slightly higher than in the previous year. Employment situation in the Philippines  The Philippines has a predominantly young population, with working-age individuals totaling about 77 million in 2022. In that same year, the employment rate stood at 94.6 percent, with over half of the employed population working in the services industry. However, as the country experienced long periods of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment, and underemployment slightly increased. Most importantly, the number of job vacancies registered under the PESO Employment Information System (PEIS) in that year was just a third of the total number of registered job seekers in the Philippines. PESO Employment Information System (PEIS) – more information To improve the local labor and employment situation in the Philippines, the Department of Labor and Employment created a database that shows information on job vacancies and the active workforce supply of registered job seekers. Through this free multiservice facility, applicants can request a job match based on their skills, while employers can fill in their vacancies by browsing through a database of qualified applicants. In 2023, about 35,000 employers registered on the platform, looking mostly for production workers and call center agents.

Abstract

The Labor Force Survey is a nationwide survey of households conducted regularly to gather data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population. It is primarily geared towards the estimation of the levels of employment in the country.

The Labor Force Survey aims to provide a quantitative framework for the preparation of plans and formulation of policies affecting the labor market. Specifically, the survey is designed to provide statistics on levels and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment for the Philippines, as a whole and for each of the administrative regions, including provinces and key cities.

Geographic coverage

National coverage, the sample design has been drawn in such a way that accurate lower level classification would be possible. The 73 provinces, 14 cities of the Philippines are covered.

Analysis unit

• Person/ individual

Universe

The survey covered all persons 10 years old and over. Persons who reside in institutions are not covered.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sampling design of the Labor Force Survey adopts that of the Integrated Survey of Households (ISH), which uses a stratified two-stage sampling design. It is prepared by the NEDA Technical Committee on Survey Design and first implemented in 1984. It is the same sampling design used in the ISH modules starting in 1986.

The urban and rural areas of each province are the principal domains of the survey. In addition, the urban and rural areas of cities with a population of 150,000 or more as of 1980 are also made domains of the survey. These cities are the four cities in Metro Manila (Manila, Quezon City, Pasay and Caloocan); and the cities of Angeles, Olongapo,, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Zamboanga, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Iligan.

The rest of Metro Manila, i.e., Pasig, Makati and the 11 other municipalities, are treated as three separate domains. In the case of Makati, six exclusive villages are identified and samples are selected using a different scheme. These villages are Forbes Park, Bel-Air, Dasmarinas, San Lorenzo, Urdaneta and Magallanes.

Sampling Units and Sampling Frame The primary sampling units (PSUs) under the sample design are the barangays and the households within each sample barangay comprise the secondary sampling units (SSUs). The frame from which the sample barangays are drawn is obtained from the 1980 Census of Population and Housing (CPH). Hence, all the approximately 40,000 barangays covered in the 1980 CPH are part of the primary sampling frame. The sampling frame for the SSUs, that is, the households, is prepared by listing all households in each of the selected sample barangays. The listing operation is conducted regularly in the sample barangays to update the secondary sampling frame from where the sample households are selected.

Sample Size and Sampling Fraction The size of the sample is envisioned to meet the demand for fairly adequate statistics at the domain level. Taking this need into account and considering cost constraints as well, the decision reached is for a national sample of about 20,000 households. In general, the sample design results in self-weighting samples within domains, with a uniform sampling fraction of 1:400 for urban and 1:600 for rural areas. However, special areas are assigned different sampling fractions so as to obtain "adequate" samples for each. Special areas refer to the urban and rural areas of a province or large city which are small relative to their counterparts.

Selection of Samples For the purpose of selecting PSUs, the barangay in each domain are arranged by population size (as of the 1980 Census of Population) in descending order and then grouped into strata of approximately equal sizes. Four independent PSUs are drawn with probability proportional to size with complete replacement.

Secondary sampling units are selected systematiclally with a random start.

Sampling deviation

Replacement of non-responding or transferred sample households is allowed although it is still possible to have non-response cases due to critical peace and order situation or inaccessibility of the selected sample households. If there are unenumerated barangays or sample households, non-response adjustments are utilized.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The items of information presented in the January 1991 Quarterly Labor Force Survey questionnaire were derived from a structured questionnaire covering the demographic and economic characteristics of individuals. The demographic characteristics include age, sex, relationship to household head, marital status, and highest grade completed. The economic characteristics include employment status, occupation, industry, nomal working hours, total hours worked, class of worker, etc.

Cleaning operations

Data processing involves two stages: manual processing and machine processing. Manual processing refers to the manual editing and coding of questionnaires. This was done prior to machine processing which entailed code validation, consistency checks as well as tabulation.

Enumeration is a very complex operation and may happen that accomplished questionnaires may have some omissions and implausible or inconsistent entries. Editing is meant to correct these errors.

For purposes of operational convenience, field editing was done. The interviewers were required to review the entries at the end of each interview. Blank items, which were applicable to the respondents, were verified and filled out. Before being transmitted to the regional office, all questionnaires were edited in the field offices.

Coding, the transformation of information from the questionnaire to machine readable form, was likewise done in the field offices.

Machine processing involved all operations that were done with the use of a computer and/or its accessories, that is, from data encoding to tabulation. Coded data are usually in such media as tapes and diskettes. Machine editing is preferred to ensure correctness of encoded information. Except for sample completeness check and verification of geographic identification which are the responsibility of the subject matter division, some imputations and corrections of entries are done mechanically.

Response rate

The response rate for January 1991 LFS was 99.91 percent. The non-response rate of 0.09 percent was due to crticial peace and order situation or inaccessibility of the selected sample or sample households.

Sampling error estimates

Standard Error (SE) and Coefficient of Variation (CV) for the selected variables of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) for January 1991 survey round was computed using the statistical package IMPS. The selected variables referred to include the employment, unemployment and labor force population levels and rates.

A sampling error is usually measured in terms of the standard error for a particular statistic. A standard error is a measure of dispersion of an estimate from the expected value.

The SE can be used to calculate confidence intervals within which the true value for the population can be estimated, while the CV is a measure of relative variability that is commonly used to assess the precision of survey estimates.

The CV is defined as the ratio of the standard error and the estimate. An estimate with CV value of less than 10 percent is considered precise.