Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel is casting doubt on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) projection that inflation likely quickened in September due to higher rice prices, maintaining that retail prices of the staple remain stable. The BSP estimated that last month’s inflation rate...
Last week, I watched a CEO in Ortigas break down during our coffee meeting—not from any corporate crisis or market meltdown, but from sheer exhaustion. “I don’t understand,” he said, stirring his third espresso of the morning. “I’m doing everything right—hitting targets, pushing...
Pervasive corruption in the Philippines is preventing the country from realizing its full economic potential, despite President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. making “steady progress” on his reform agenda, according to the think tank Capital Economics. In its Asia Economic Outlook report for the...
Unemployment in the country has risen sharply in July, driven by a series of typhoons that severely impacted key sectors and forced many out of work, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) The Philippine unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent in July 2025, from 4.7 percent in July...
The Philippine employment rate dipped to 94.7 percent in July 2025 amid the entry of 1.7 million new workers into the labor force, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Wednesday, Sept. 10. The July Labor Force Survey showed the unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent from 4.7...
Singapore-based United Overseas Bank (UOB) expects lower interest rates to lift Philippine economic growth in the near term, despite lingering global challenges that would likely expand the domestic economy below the government’s goal for the year. In its Quarterly Global Outlook report for the...
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Saturday, September 6, said hunger among Filipino families has fallen to its lowest level in years, attributing the drop to its Walang Gutom Program (WGP). Citing the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, Assistant Secretary Baldr...
Despite last month’s spike in consumer prices, the steady decline in rice costs is seen to keep a lid on inflation, with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expecting it to average below two percent this year. Inflation quickened to 1.5 percent in August from 0.9 percent in July—the slowest...
The rate of increase in consumer prices has accelerated last month due to jump in food prices, with recent weather events heavily impacting the cost of vegetables, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday, Sept. 5. Headline inflation accelerated to 1.5 percent in August 2025,...
Despite recent pronouncements by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that one more policy rate cut before year-end would maintain the “Goldilocks” level, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) still forecasts two more reductions at each of the two remaining Monetary Board (MB) interest rate...
Consumer prices may have risen at a faster pace in August, the central bank projected, as recent typhoons and excessive rainfall likely stoked the cost of basic goods, especially food items. Last month’s inflation is expected to clock within the range of one percent to 1.8 percent, according to...
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects August 2025 inflation to accelerate to a median of 1.4 percent, a modest increase from July but a significant deceleration from last year. The central bank projects a range of 1.0 percent to 1.8 percent for the month. The forecast is a jump from...
