Philippine jobless rate climbs despite holiday hiring

By Erika Mae P. Sinaking, Reporter

The Philippines’ unemployment rate rose in November 2025 despite the start of the holiday hiring season, as bad weather and job losses in key industries outweighed the usual fourth-quarter lift, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

Preliminary results of the labor force survey put the jobless rate at 4.4%, up from 3.2% a year earlier, though lower than 5% in October. This translated to about 2.25 million jobless Filipinos, compared with 1.66 million in November 2024 and 2.54 million in the previous month.

National Statistician and PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa said the year-on-year weakening reflected weather-related disruptions and employment declines across several major sectors.

“[There were] wo major typhoons in November last year, including Tinio, and their impact was widespread,” he told a news briefing on Wednesday. He noted that the storms disrupted economic activity, transport and supply chains, affecting hiring and job retention across regions.

Employment showed mixed signals. The number of employed Filipinos rose to 49.26 million in November from 48.62 million in October, pointing to some seasonal recovery. However, employment remained below the 49.54 million recorded in November 2024, underscoring the lingering effects of disruptions earlier in the year.

As a result, the employment rate slipped to 95.6% in November from 96.8% a year earlier, though better than 95% in October.

Mr. Mapa said the typical hiring boost during the “ber months” was weaker than expected. He noted that there were 49.26 million employed people in November 2025, 277,000 fewer than a year earlier.

The impact was most visible in sectors sensitive to mobility, such as tourism and logistics.

Underemployment conditions, however, improved. The number of underemployed Filipinos fell to 5.11 million in November from 5.35 million a year earlier and 5.81 million in October. The underemployment rate declined to 10.4% from 10.8% in November 2024 and

12% in the previous month, suggesting fewer workers were seeking more hours or better jobs.

Labor force participation showed a modest month-on-month increase but remained lower than a year earlier — 64% in November compared with 64.6% a year earlier and 63.6% in October.

This meant a labor force of 51.52 million from 51.16 million in October and 51.2 million recorded in November 2024.