Jobless rate rises to 3.9% in March

The country’s unemployment rate went up slightly in March from the previous month, while the quality of jobs deteriorated, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

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In a press conference recently, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said results of the PSA's Labor Force Survey showed that the country’s unemployment rate went up to 3.9 percent in March from 3.8 percent in February, but was unchanged from the same month last year.

While the unemployment rate went up month-on-month, the number of jobless Filipinos dipped slightly to 1.93 million in March from 1.94 million in February. The figure was also lower than the two million in March 2024.

The quality of jobs in the market worsened as the underemployment rate climbed to 13.4 percent in March this year from 10.1 percent in February and 11 percent in March 2024.

This translated to 6.44 million underemployed Filipinos or those who want additional hours of work or an additional job in March this year, up from 4.96 million in the previous month and 5.39 million in March last year.