PSA: Jobless Filipinos at 2.58 million in March
MANILA, Philippines — The unemployment rate in March 2026 eased to 5%, down from 5.1% in February 2026, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In its report on Wednesday, May 6, the PSA said that unemployed persons stood at 2.58 million in March 2026, a decrease from the 2.66 million recorded in February 2026.
However, this is a notable increase from the 1.93 million unemployed individuals logged in March 2025.
For March 2026, the Labor Force Participation Rate was recorded at 63.3%, translating to 51.65 million Filipinos in the workforce.
Employment rate. Correspondingly, the total number of employed persons reached 49.07 million in March 2026.
This figure is lower than the 49.43 million employed in February but higher than the 48.02 million recorded in March 2025. The overall employment rate for March was 95%.
Underemployed. The underemployment rate—referring to employed persons who desire additional hours of work or an additional job—was recorded at 12.3% in March 2026.
This represents 6.03 million Filipinos. Of this group, 59.5% are classified as "visibly underemployed," working less than 40 hours per week, while 40.5% are "invisibly underemployed," working 40 hours or more but still seeking more work or better opportunities.
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