Bahagyang bumaba ang unemployment rate sa bansa sa 5.0 percent noong March 2026 mula 5.1 percent noong February, pero mas mataas pa rin ito kesa 3.9 percent noong March 2025.
Sa pinakabagong ulat ng Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), nasa 2.58 milyong Pilipino ang unemployed o walang trabaho noong March 2026. Mas mababa ito kesa 2.66 million noong February, pero mas mataas kesa 1.93 million noong March 2025.
Nasa 63.3 percent ang labor force participation rate, na katumbas ng 51.65 million Filipinos na edad 15 pataas na kabilang sa labor force. Mas mataas ito kesa 49.95 million noong March 2025, pero mas mababa kesa 52.09 million noong February 2026.
Sa mga may trabaho, umabot sa 49.07 million ang employed persons noong March. Mas mataas ito kesa 48.02 million noong March 2025, pero mas mababa kesa 49.43 million noong February. Nasa 95.0 percent ang employment rate, bahagyang mas mataas kesa 94.9 percent noong February, pero mas mababa kesa 96.1 percent noong March 2025.
Pinakamalaking employer ang services sector, na bumuo ng 63.0 percent ng total employed persons. Sumunod ang agriculture sa 19.1 percent at industry sa 17.9 percent. Sa sub-sector, nanguna ang wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles sa 20.2 percent, agriculture and forestry sa 17.1 percent, at construction sa 9.6 percent.
Sa year-on-year gains, pinakamalaki ang dagdag-trabaho sa transportation and storage na may 507,000, administrative and support service activities na may 458,000, professional, scientific and technical activities na may 209,000, construction na may 175,000, at mining and quarrying na may 147,000.
Pinakamalaki naman ang bawas sa fishing and aquaculture na may 189,000, manufacturing na may 149,000, arts, entertainment and recreation na may 147,000, public administration and defense, compulsory social security na may 137,000, at other service activities na may 94,000.
Karamihan sa may trabaho ay wage and salary workers, na bumuo ng 63.7 percent ng employed persons. Sumunod ang self-employed without any paid employees sa 27.8 percent, unpaid family workers sa 6.8 percent, at employers in own family-operated farm or business sa 1.6 percent.
Bumaba ang average weekly hours worked sa 40.7 hours noong March mula 41.2 hours noong March 2025 at 40.9 hours noong February.
Umakyat naman ang underemployment rate sa 12.3 percent mula 11.8 percent noong February, pero mas mababa pa rin kesa 13.4 percent noong March 2025. Katumbas ito ng 6.03 million employed individuals na gusto pa ng dagdag na oras, dagdag na trabaho, o bagong trabahong may mas mahabang oras.
Sa youth labor, nasa 30.6 percent ang labor force participation rate ng edad 15 hanggang 24. Nasa 87.4 percent ang youth employment rate, habang 753,000 sa 5.76 million employed youth ang underemployed, katumbas ng 13.1 percent youth underemployment rate. /Bistado