SWS: 69% of Filipinos say finding job these days difficult


At a glance

  • Sixty-nine percent of Filipinos say it is hard to find a job these days, 11 percent say finding a job is easy, 16 percent say it is neither easy nor hard, and 4 percent “don’t know.”

  • SWS pointed out that survey results on finding work has “always been hard since 2011.”

  • Fifty percent of Filipinos are optimistic there will be more jobs available in the next 12 months.

  • Since 2009, except during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Filipinos have been more optimistic about job availability


Majority of Filipinos said it is “hard to find a job these days,” based on the results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted in the first quarter of 2023.

According to the SWS survey results released on Thursday, May 25, 69 percent of Filipinos are finding it difficult to find work these days. 

Meanwhile, 11 percent say “finding a job is easy these days,” 16 percent say it is “neither easy nor hard,” and 4 percent “don’t know.”

SWS pointed out that survey results on finding work has “always been hard since 2011.”

Although a high percentage of people say it is difficult to find work these days, SWS said that 50 percent believe there will be more jobs available in the next 12 months.

Meanwhile, 26 percent believe there will be “no changes,” 10 percent believe there will be “fewer jobs,” while 14 percent say they “don’t know.”

“Since 2009, except during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Filipinos have been more optimistic about job availability,” SWS pointed out.

The First Quarter 2023 SWS survey was conducted from March 26-29, 2023, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults aged 18 and up nationwide.

It has a margin of error of +/-2.8 percent.