Unemployment Rate in June 2024 Lowers to 3.1 Percent 

The latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) by the Philippine Statistics Authority reported a continued drop in the country’s unemployment rate to 3.1 percent in June 2024, compared to 4.5 percent in June 2023. This brings the number of unemployed Filipinos to 1.62 million, up from 2.33 million last year.  

Meanwhile, the underemployment rate rose to 12.1 percent in June 2024, which is equivalent to 6.08 million Filipinos. This is slightly higher than the 12.0 percent in June 2023 and the 9.9 percent in May 2024. This shows that more Filipinos have expressed the desire to have additional work hours or to have additional jobs.

Low  Unemployment, But Relatively Higher Underemployment

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan noted that employment growth was tied to the implementation of government infrastructure projects and enhanced operating conditions in manufacturing firms. Secretary Balicasan also stated that the government will enhance productivity as well as upskill and reskill the workforce. 

The LFS showed the five sub-sectors with the highest increase in employment in June 2024: 

Meanwhile, the LFS identified the top five sub-sectors that recorded the highest annual decline: 

Moreover, the top five sub-sectors with the most significant decline from May 2024 to June 2024:

However, Secretary Balicasan emphasized that better employment figures do not necessarily mean better job quality and although the employment rate is high, Secretary Balisacan said that some of the jobs were “not the kind of employment that we want our population to have.” Meanwhile, National Statistician Dennis Mapa noted that more people joined the labor force in June 2024 compared to June 2023. But, he emphasized that while the labor market has more workers, not all of them were absorbed as fully employed. Some Filipinos work less than 40 hours or wish to have more work.