06.02.202601:23:03UTC+00Philippines Jobless Rate Unchanged at 4.4%

In December 2025, the Philippines' unemployment rate held steady at 4.4%, the same as in November, indicating consistent labor market conditions. This rate, however, represents an increase from the 3.1% recorded in December 2024. The tally of unemployed individuals grew slightly to 2.26 million from November's 2.25 million and showed a more significant rise from 1.63 million in the previous year. Employment numbers increased to 49.43 million from 49.26 million in November but were still lower than the 50.19 million recorded in December 2024. Within the primary sectors, the services industry remained the largest employer, accounting for 62.4% of the workforce, followed by agriculture at 20.7%, and industry at 16.9%. Key sub-sectors such as wholesale and retail trade and accommodation and food services continued to hold substantial shares in employment. The labor force participation rate edged up to 64.4% from 64.0% in November, though it stayed below the 65.1% observed in December 2024.