Philippine unemployment rate rises to 3.9% in March

JOB HUNTING Job seekers attend a recent job fair at Juan Sumulong Elementary School. INQUIRER / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — The number of unemployed Filipinos slightly fell to 1.93 million in March, from 1.94 million in February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.

This was equivalent to a jobless rate of 3.9 percent, slightly up from 3.8 percent in the preceding month.

The latest reading matched the unemployment rate recorded in March last year.

Meanwhile, there were 6.44 million employed individuals who looked for additional jobs or working hours in March to augment their income, up from 4.96 million in February.

That meant that the underemployment rate rose to 13.4 percent, from 10.1 percent previously.

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There were 49.96 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and over who were in the labor force, or those who were either employed or unemployed.

The number of individuals aged 15 years old and over who were in the labor force stood at 51.15 million in March 2024 and 51.09 million in February 2025.