The number of working Filipino children, including child laborers, ages five to 17, inched up by 0.8 percent to about 868,540 in 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed.

Citing the latest preliminary data, the PSA reported on Wednesday, July 15, that the share of working children in the total population of children in the country rose to 3.1 percent last year from 2.7 percent in 2024, when the number of working children stood at around 861,450.

While 2025 posted a year-on-year increase, the figures for the past two years remained lower than the 1.09 million working children, equivalent to 3.5 percent of the total population, recorded in 2023.

The PSA report showed that there were more male working children, reaching about 535,390 or 61.6 percent of total, while females accounted for the remaining about 333,150 in 2025. In previous years, male working children also comprised more than half of total, accounting for 61.8 percent in 2024 and 59.1 percent in 2023.

Additionally, more children worked in the services sector, which accounted for almost 50 percent of total over the past three years. Agriculture was the second-largest sector, accounting for 41.2 percent of total in 2025, followed by the industry sector at 10.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the total number of child laborers increased by a slightly faster nearly 0.9 percent to about 513,650 in 2025 from about 509,160 in 2024 among children ages five to 17.

In 2023, the number of child laborers was much higher at about 678,360.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) defines child laborers as those engaged in hazardous work; those below 15 years old who work for more than 20 hours a week, more than four hours a day, or between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following day; and children ages 15 to 17 who work for more than 40 hours a week, more than eight hours a day, or between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. the following day.

The PSA report also showed that child laborers ages 15 to 17 continued to account for the largest share of working children over the past three years. Male child laborers also outnumbered females, accounting for more than half of total. In 2025, PSA data showed that male child laborers comprised 72.7 percent of total.

Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said on Thursday, July 16, that the increase in working children reflects continued household financial pressures brought about by higher living costs.

“The best solution is not just stricter enforcement but creating better jobs, higher family incomes, stronger social protection, financial literacy and keeping children in school through targeted support programs,” he said.

Ravelas also said child labor is as much an economic issue as it is a social issue.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said in an interview also on Thursday that the increase in working children could be attributed to poverty amid higher commodity prices or opportunities for children to work regardless of educational attainment.

Additionally, he said the global economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic pushed some children into labor as their families struggled to make ends meet, especially the poorest households.

“It [is] so important for children to finish schooling/education, especially the poorest of the poor, to help more to be uplifted from poverty since education is the biggest equalizer alongside the best global technologies to further boost productivity,” Ricafort said. - Danielle T. Bayani