Local unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent in April, the highest jobless rate for April rounds of the government’s labor force surveys (LFS) since the 5.7 percent recorded in April 2022, with agriculture and wholesale and retail trade shedding the most jobs.

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa reported on Tuesday, June 9, that the country’s unemployment rate upon entering the second quarter of the year climbed from 4.1 percent in April last year. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate was higher in January 2026 at 5.8 percent.

This translates to 2.41 million Filipinos without jobs, higher than the 2.01 million jobless individuals recorded in April 2025. However, this was lower than the nearly three million unemployed Filipinos recorded in the previous quarter.

The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest LFS showed that six regions recorded unemployment rates above the national average of 4.7 percent in April. The highest unemployment rate was posted in Bicol Region at 6.8 percent, followed by Western Visayas at 6.3 percent and Eastern Visayas at 5.5 percent.

Meanwhile, CALABARZON registered an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent, while both National Capital Region (NCR) and Northern Mindanao posted rates of 5.2 percent.

Additionally, the underemployment rate stood at 15.2 percent of the labor force, higher than the 14.6 percent recorded in April last year.

Underemployed persons are employed individuals who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job, to have an additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work.

Consequently, the employment rate in April, at 95.3 percent, was also the lowest for April LFS rounds in four years, since the 94.3 percent recorded in April 2022. The employment rate was lower than the 95.9 percent seen in April a year ago.

Meanwhile, the employment rate was higher than the 94.2 percent posted in January.

There were 48.89 million Filipinos working in April, higher than both the 48.67 million recorded in April 2025 and the 47.94 million posted a quarter ago.

Of the total number of employed individuals, the industry and agriculture sectors collectively accounted for nearly two-fifths.

Among subsectors, the largest share of employed workers was in wholesale and retail trade, including the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, at 19.8 percent. It also posted the largest decline, shedding 450,000 workers.

Agriculture and forestry, which accounted for 16.8 percent of employed individuals, shed 392,000 workers. Fishing and aquaculture also declined, shedding 155,000 workers.

Other subsectors with declines were administrative and support service activities, which decreased by 50,000, and public administration and defense, including compulsory social security, which also declined by 50,000.

Meanwhile, the subsectors with the highest annual employment gains were accommodation and food service activities, which added 510,000 workers; manufacturing, up by 259,000; transportation and storage, which increased by 189,000; mining and quarrying, which grew by 158,000; and education, which rose by 107,000.

Wage and salary workers made up the largest share of the workforce in April at about two-thirds of the total. This was followed by self-employed individuals without paid employees at 27.8 percent and unpaid family workers at 5.8 percent.

Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a June 9 statement that the latest labor market figures “reflect both the challenges confronting the economy and the resilience of Filipino workers and businesses.”

Balisacan also said the government is closely watching threats stemming from the ongoing Middle East war, the El Niño phenomenon, and the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that particularly affected Mindanao.

“We remain committed to providing timely support to affected workers and households,” Balisacan said.

The DEPDev chief said assistance is being rolled out under the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) framework. He added that the inter-agency El Niño Task Force will be reconvened to help protect jobs and livelihoods, especially in the agriculture sector.

Beyond rolling out assistance, Balisacan stressed the need to strengthen business continuity and create more opportunities for quality jobs.

“We are working to broaden market access and attract investments in emerging industries, including artificial intelligence and other high-growth sectors, through strengthened economic partnerships and initiatives such as the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC),” he said.