Jobless rate eased to 3.8% in Feb—PSA

MANILA, Philippines—The proportion of Filipinos who were either unemployed or out of business fell in February, with more people joining the labor force and landing better-quality jobs.

The number of unemployed Filipinos went down to 1.94 million in February, from 2.16 million in January, the PSA reports.

That was equivalent to a jobless rate of 3.8 percent in the second month of 2025, down from 4.3 percent previously.

The decline in the unemployment rate happened while more Filipinos aged 15 years old and above actively looked for jobs. That gauge, called the labor force participation rate, went up to 64.5 percent in February, from 63.9 percent in the preceding month.

At the same time, the underemployment rate went down to 10.1 percent from 13.3 percent before, indicating better job quality.