Arthur Fuentes

Thousands of job seekers crowd the Labor Day Job Fair spearheaded by the Quezon City local government in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) at the MICE Convention Center in Quezon City on May 1, 2025. Close to 100 companies from private and government agencies offer 11,000 jobs to applicants seeking local and overseas employment opportunities. On-site services such as resume writing assistance, pre-employment orientation, and business registration booths are available to support applicants and aspiring entrepreneurs. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Job fair

Benise Balaoing

ABS-CBN News

<h2 id="isPasted">BPOs add jobs as construction sector sheds more workers </h2>MANILA -- The Philippines&#x27; underemployment rate was steady in December, while underemployment eased, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Friday. The PSA said the jobless rate was at 4.4 percent in December, which was the same rate in November. This meant that 2.26 million Filipino workers were unemployed that month. The underemployment rate, meanwhile, eased to 8 percent in December from 10.4 percent in November, meaning 3.93 million workers were underemployed that month compared to 5.11 million in the preceding month. The PSA defines underemployed as workers who already have jobs, but are still looking for extra jobs or extra workhours. A low underemployment rate indicates that more quality jobs are available. PSA Undersecretary and National Statistician Dennis Mapa noted that on a yearly basis, call centers added more jobs during the month, even as the construction sector continued to lose jobs amid the ongoing infrastructure scandal.  &quot;Ang pinakamalaking pagtaas sa bilang ng employed ay mula sa backoffice activities non-voice, temporary employment agency activities, at call center activities voice,&quot; Mapa said. (The largest increase in the number of employees is from the back office operation activities, non-voice, temporary employment agency activities, and call center activities, voice.) Mapa said that these subsectors added around 385,000 jobs in December 2025 compared to December 2024. The second largest source of jobs was the restaurant and accommodations sector which added 280,000 jobs. Education also saw an increase of 241,000 jobs. Meanwhile, construction lost over half a million jobs in the same month, on a yearly basis. Mapa said the largest decrease in the number of employees was from activities such as the construction of buildings, the construction of other civil engineering projects, and building completion and finishing. Mapa said this could be linked to the infrastructure scandal hounding the government. &quot;Bumaba yung activities sa public construction. Nakita natin yung, ni-report natin yun sa fourth quarter GDP. So kung mahina yung activities dahil mahina yung disbursement, syempre lesser employed persons in that industry,&quot; Mapa said. (Construction activities fell. We saw that in the fourth quarter GDP report. So if there&#x27;s less activity, there will also be fewer employed persons in that industry.) Mapa also noted that construction wasn’t a significant contribution to growth numbers in 2025—unlike in 2024, when it was the second-largest growth driver at 302,000 jobs. The national statistician noted that the average employment rate was at 95.8 percent in 2025, versus 96.2 percent in 2024. The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) said government will keep working to restore consumer and business confidence, reduce the cost of doing business, and expand training and reskilling opportunities for Filipinos. Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillion also said government will adopt  digital technologies to improve the capacity of high-productivity sectors, like the IT-BPM and advanced manufacturing sectors, to ensure sustainable job growth.

The PSA said the jobless rate was at 4.4 percent in December, which was the same rate in November. This meant that 2.26 million Filipino workers were unemployed that month.

The PSA said the jobless rate was at 4.4 percent in December, which was the same rate in November. This meant that 2.26 million Filipino workers were unemployed that month.

Unemployment rate steady, underemployment eases in December 2025

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Unemployment rate steady, underemployment eases in December 2025

Arthur Fuentes,

Benise Balaoing,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 06, 2026 09:14 AM PHT

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Updated February 06, 2026 05:15 PM PHT

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