Over half a million Filipinos were added to the total number of jobless individuals in January 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
This rapid multiplication of unemployed Filipinos made January’s unemployment rate peak at 4.3 percent, the highest unemployment rate in six months.
By number, the 1.63 million unemployed Filipinos in December 2024 ballooned by over 536,000 to 2.17 million in January. This is even higher than January 2024’s figure of 2.16 million.
This spike has reversed the downward trend of the jobless rate in the second half of 2024. The unemployment rate began slowing at four percent in August and reached its lowest in December at 3.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the employment rate fell by 1.2 percent from 96.9 percent in December to 95.7 percent in January.
Employed individuals decreased by 1.7 million month-on-month, from 50.19 million in December last year to 48.49 million in January 2025.
However, this is higher by 2.59 million compared to the number of employed Filipinos in January last year, which stood at 45.90 million.
The sectors with the largest annual declines in employment were manufacturing (decreased by 209,000), professional and technical services (58,000), arts and entertainment (29,000), construction (11,000), and information and communication (9,000).
According to Deputy National Statistician Divina Gracia L. Del Prado, the decline in employment could be attributed to the typical post-holiday slowdown. In December, employment surges due to increased demand for workers in preparation for the Christmas season. By January, this demand naturally declines, Del Prado said.
Similar to the trend in the unemployment rate, the underemployment rate also stood at 13.3 percent, reversing the 10.9 percent rate seen in December 2024.
Of the total employed Filipinos, 6.47 million expressed the desire to have additional jobs or work for extra hours in their existing jobs. This number jumped by nearly one million from the 5.48 million underemployed individuals in December 2024.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said earlier that the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) will definitely revise its 2025 target after the average 2024 jobless rate fell to its lowest level in 20 years.
Recto said this year’s unemployment rate target could be upgraded to between 3.5 and 4.5 percent from the current 4.8–5.1-percent projection under the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028.
According to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the government aims to foster a strong and business-friendly economy. It also plans to train the workforce with skills that meet industry standards to sustain growth in the local labor market.
“Our strategy remains clear: to sustain job creation by fostering a dynamic and investment-friendly economy while preparing our workforce for high-growth and emerging industries that offer high-quality, well-paying jobs,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said.
Meanwhile, the newly signed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act aims to improve the investment climate by streamlining fiscal incentives and simplifying business regulations.
NEDA said that reducing red tape and clarifying investment rules encourage local and foreign businesses to expand in the Philippines. Balisacan expects this to generate more jobs and help build a skilled, future-ready workforce.