MANILA, Philippines -- The number of working children in the Philippines continues to rise, with an estimated 1.48 million children aged 5 to 17 working in 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.
According to the data, among 31.71 million children aged 5 to 17 in the country, 4.7 percent were working children, compared with 4.3 percent in 2021, or 1.37 million working children.
Among them, 49.5 percent worked in the service sector, while 43.2 percent in the agriculture sector, 7.3 percent in the industry sector, the data showed.
The number of working children considered engaged in child labor, including those doing hazardous work or working more than 40 hours per week, was estimated at 828,000 in 2022, decreasing from 935,000 in 2021.
Child labor is any work or economic activity a child performs that subjects them to exploitation, harms their health and safety, or affects physical, mental, or psychological development.
Among the child laborers in the Philippines, 66.2 percent were boys and 33.8 percent were girls.