MANILA, Philippines – The unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.8% in May 2026, as losses in farm work – particularly in palay and corn farming – weighed on the labor market, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday, July 8.

The latest jobless rate was equivalent to 2.50 million unemployed Filipinos, higher than the 2.41 million recorded in April 2026 and the 2.03 million posted in May 2025.

The May figure was only slightly worse than April’s 4.7%, but was nearly 1-percentage point higher than the 3.9% unemployment rate recorded in the same month last year.

For the first five months of 2026, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the unemployment rate averaged 5.1%, compared to 4.0% in the same period in 2025.

Farm jobs down

Asked whether the increase in unemployed Filipinos could be attributed to the Middle East fuel crisis, Mapa pointed instead to the large year-on-year drop in agriculture and forestry jobs.

“Malaki ang pagbaba ng number of employed persons mula sa agriculture and forestry (There was a big drop in the number of employed persons in agriculture and forestry),” Mapa said.

Agriculture and forestry shed 905,000 jobs year-on-year, the biggest net loss among industries. Much of this came from the growing of palay, which lost 734,000 jobs, and the growing of corn, which lost 428,000 jobs. Since the combined losses in palay and corn were larger than the agriculture and forestry industry’s overall decline, the figures suggest that gains in other agricultural subsectors partly offset the drop.

“Siguro, impact ito ng weather condition nitong May 2026,” Mapa said, noting the developing El Niño conditions as well. (READ: Strong El Niño will develop rapidly over coming months, says UN weather agency)

Other service activities also posted a large net annual loss of 442,000 jobs. The decline was more than accounted for by domestic services such as household help, drivers, and gardeners, which lost 461,000 jobs, meaning gains in other activities within the industry partly offset the losses. Mapa said this could indicate that households were cutting back on spending

Public administration and defense lost 213,000 jobs year-on-year, while wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles lost 141,000 jobs.

These losses offset gains in other sectors. The biggest annual increases came from administrative and support service activities, which added 329,000 jobs; mining and quarrying, which added 184,000; human health and social work activities, which added 173,000; fishing and aquaculture, which added 170,000; and construction, which added 168,000.

Underemployment improves

While unemployment worsened, underemployment improved sharply in May.

The underemployment rate fell to 12.2%, equivalent to 6.04 million Filipinos who wanted additional work hours, another job, or a new job with longer hours. This was better than the 15.2% underemployment rate in April and the 13.1% rate in May 2025.

In magnitude, this translated to a decline of around 564,000 underemployed Filipinos year-on-year.

The biggest decreases in underemployment were seen in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, which recorded 240,000 fewer underemployed persons; agriculture and forestry, down by 154,000; domestic other service activities, down by 131,000; and construction, down by 130,000.

The drop was driven mainly by visible underemployment, or workers who were working less than 40 hours a week but still wanted more work. The number of Filipinos who were visibly underemployed fell by around 664,000 year-on-year.

Average weekly hours worked rose to 41.1 hours in May, higher than the 40.2 hours recorded in April and the 39.8 hours posted in May 2025. Around 34.36 million Filipinos worked more than 40 hours a week in May 2026, compared to 32.45 million in the same month last year.

The May labor force survey does not yet capture the impact of the upcoming P85 minimum wage increase in Metro Manila, whose first tranche will take effect in the middle of July.

Asked what historical data show about employment, underemployment, or hours worked after large wage hikes, Mapa said the PSA is first looking at the impact on prices, especially in sectors with a large labor input. The agency will still monitor the wage hike’s possible impact on employment and underemployment. – Rappler.com