The unemployment rate in the Philippines edged up to 5.4% in September 2026 from 5.3% in August. The number of unemployed individuals increased to 2.86 million from 2.77 million, while the employment rate eased slightly to 94.6% from 94.7%. Despite this, the number of employed persons grew to 50.32 million from 49.79 million over the same period.
The underemployment rate declined to 11.0% from 11.9%, with 5.56 million workers looking for additional hours of work or an additional job.
On a year-on-year basis, the unemployment rate in September 2026 was higher than the 3.8% recorded in September 2025. The employment rate was also lower than the 96.2% posted a year earlier, although the number of employed persons rose from 49.60 million in September 2025. The underemployment rate, at 11.0%, was slightly down from 11.1% a year earlier.
By sector, services remained the largest source of employment, accounting for 62.2% of total jobs, followed by agriculture at 20.7% and industry at 17.1%. Average weekly working hours increased to 40.1 in September 2026 from 39.2 in August, but were lower than the 40.5 hours recorded a year earlier.
