Joblessness in the Philippines worsened to 4.4% in November 2025, up from 3.2% in the same month of 2024, as typhoons Tino and Uwan disrupted economic activity in climate-vulnerable sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Wednesday, January 7.
The Labor Force Survey showed that 590,000 jobs were lost in November alone, bringing the total number of unemployed Filipinos to 2.25 million versus 1.66 million a year ago.
“November if you recall, may dalawang major typhoons tayo na nakaapekto talaga sa ating bansa. Yung Tino very wide yung coverage saka Uwan… so partly kasi doon tayo nagkaroon tayo ng impact sa accommodation and food service activities saka yung retail trade,” National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said.
“Ang reading namin is that because of these typhoons, nagkaroon ng slowdown in economic activities related to tourism – sa accommodation and of course, sa retail trade,” she added.
Job losses were most pronounced in tourism, with restaurants and hotels cutting 309,000 positions. Short-term stays laid off 76,000 workers, and event catering lost 23,000 jobs.
Wholesale and retail trade shed 300,000 jobs, while service activities including wellness, home repairs, and appliance services cut 250,000. Factories, mainly assembling semiconductors and electronic components, trimmed 150,000 positions.
“The expectation is that year-on-year magkaroon tayo ng pagtaas kasi nga it’s the ber months,” Mapa said, noting that the typical holiday hiring boost was offset by the typhoons.
Underemployment, counting those with jobs seeking more hours, eased slightly to 10.4% from 10.8% a year ago.
“Both indicators remain within the government’s target ranges of 4.8-5.1% for unemployment and 13-14% for underemployment for 2025,” Department of Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.