Labor group disputes PSA's jobless data

The militant labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) has disputed the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA) report showing a lower unemployment rate, asserting that the number of Filipinos without jobs actually rose in September 2025.

- Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/ FPL

Tons of trash and debris washed ashore along the coastline of Barangays Pasil and Suba, Cebu City, following Typhoon Tino. ALDO BANAYNAL

(ALDO BANAYNAL)

“If we dig deeper into the jobs numbers, we find that there are more Filipinos without gainful employment in September compared to the previous month, contrary to the PSA's declaration,” said Dennis Derige, PM Cebu spokesperson, in a statement.

The PSA reported that the official number of unemployed persons in September stood at 1.96 million, down from 2.03 million in August, which translated to a slight dip in the unemployment rate from 5.3% to 5.1%.