Nearly 3 million Filipinos jobless at start of 2026This photo taken on August 22, 2024 shows employees entering data on traffic movement gathered manually in Metro Manila, at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) office in Pasig City. MANILA, Philippines — Almost 3 million Filipinos were unemployed as of January this year ahead of global surge in oil prices that would hit business hard. In a report released on March 13, the Philippine Statistics Authority said the unemployment rate in the country was 5.8%. This means 2.96 million of 80.89 Filipinos qualified for work were jobless at the start of the year, while 2.17 million Filipinos were unemployed at the same period in 2025. The services sector remained the highest source of employment for Filipinos, providing 63.6% of jobs.

Source: Philippine Star March 13, 2026 04:35 UTC