The unemployment rate in the Philippines inched up to 4.9% in June 2026 from 4.8% in May, and was notably higher than the 3.7% recorded in the same month a year earlier. The number of unemployed individuals increased to 2.59 million, compared with 2.50 million in the previous month and 1.95 million in June 2025.
Despite this, total employment continued to grow, with the number of employed persons rising to 50.66 million in June from 49.63 million in May. However, the employment rate edged down slightly to 95.1% from 95.2%.
The services sector remained the country’s largest source of jobs, accounting for 62.7% of total employment, followed by agriculture at 20.0% and industry at 17.3%. The underemployment rate eased marginally to 12.1% from 12.2% in May, even as average weekly hours worked declined to 40.6 from 41.1.
Wage and salary workers constituted 64.1% of the employed population, with a substantial majority (77.6%) employed in private establishments.
