The unemployment rate in the Philippines inched up to 4.8% in May 2026 from April’s four-month low of 4.7%, and was notably higher than the 3.9% recorded in the same month a year earlier. The number of unemployed persons rose to 2.50 million from 2.41 million in April.
The employment rate slipped marginally to 95.2% from 95.3%, even as total employment increased to 49.63 million from 48.89 million in the previous month. The services sector continued to dominate the labor market, accounting for 61.8% of total employment, followed by agriculture at 19.9% and industry at 18.3%.
By subsector, the largest employment shares were in wholesale and retail trade and the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (19.6%), agriculture and forestry (17.2%), and construction (10%).
The labor force participation rate rose to 63.8% from 62.7% in April, but remained below the 65.8% registered in May 2025. Wage and salary workers made up 64.3% of the workforce, the majority of whom were employed in private establishments.
