The unemployment rate in the Philippines decreased to 3.1% in June 2024, from 4.5% in the same month last year, according to preliminary estimates by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

June’s 3.1% rate was also lower than the 4.1% in May 2024.

In terms of magnitude, the number of unemployed individuals in June 2024 was registered at 1.62 million. This was lower than the number of unemployed individuals in June 2023 at 2.33 million and in May 2024 at 2.11 million.   

Meanwhile, in June 2024, the country’s employment rate was posted at 96.9%. This was higher than the employment rate estimated in June 2023 at 95.5% and in May 2024 at 95.9%.

In terms of level, the number of employed persons in June 2024 was recorded at 50.28 million. This was higher than the number of employed persons of 48.84 million in June 2023 and 48.87 million in May 2024.

By broad industry group, the services sector continued as the top sector in terms of the number of employed persons with a share of 58.7% of the total number of employed persons in June 2024. The agriculture and industry sectors accounted for 21.1% and 20.2% of the total number of employed persons in the reference month, respectively.

The top five sub-sectors in terms of annual increase in the number of employed persons in June 2024 were the following: construction (938,000); wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (527,000); accommodation and food service activities (396,000); manufacturing (353,000); and transportation and storage (323,000).

In contrast, the following five sub-sectors posted the highest annual decreases in the number of employed persons: agriculture and forestry (-916,000); public administration and defense; compulsory social security (-340,000); fishing and aquaculture (-81,000); education (-71,000); and financial and insurance activities (-42,000).

The country’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) in June 2024 was posted at 66.0%, lower than the estimated rate in June 2023 at 66.1%. In May 2024, the rate was estimated at 64.8%.

The reported LFPR in June 2024 translates to a total of 51.90 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and over who were in the labour force, or those who were either employed or unemployed. The number of individuals aged 15 years old and over who were in the labour force was 51.17 million in June 2023, and 50.97 million in May 2024.

Meanwhile, on average, an employed individual worked 40.9 hours per week in June 2024, higher than the average hours worked in a week in June last year at 40.0 hours and in May 2024 at 40.6 hours.