“Are we looking at the same labor force figures?” questioned research group IBON in response to economic managers’ claims of quality jobs expanding and the labor market’s strong performance based merely on lower underemployment rates. The group said that the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev) is overreading the decline in underemployment. The decrease in wage and salary workers, particularly in private establishments, and a significant rise in part-time and informal workers, contradicts this view and strongly indicates a decline in job quality.
IBON said that year-on-year in June 2025, employment grew by a mere 197,000 to 50.5 million, while underemployment decreased by 320,000 to 5.8 million. However, unemployment rose by 329,000 to almost 2 million, indicating that the economy is chronically failing to create enough work to accommodate Filipino job seekers.
The group noted that another sign of weakening economic activity and deteriorating job quality is the huge drop in the number of private establishment workers by 831,000 to 25 million. The increase in government jobs by 279,000 and domestic work by 278,000 were insufficient to offset the overall decline in the number of wage and salary workers by 255,000 to 31.8 million. Even more concerning is that the number of unpaid family workers surged by 296,000, increasing to over 4 million.
The hike in part-time work is another indication of worsening job quality. Looking at hours worked, full-time workers declined by 637,000 to 34.2 million, while part-time workers rose by 787,000. This means nearly one-third of the workforce, or 15.8 million Filipinos, are in part-time jobs.
IBON estimates that the number of openly informal workers grew by 748,000 to 21.2 million or 41.9% of total employed. This is comprised of the self-employed, private household workers, and those in family-owned farms and businesses. Including those employed in informal private establishments, there could be as much as 36.7 million informal workers or 72.7% of total employed.
The group said that fewer underemployed people is not an indication that the jobs situation is improving. Instead, more Filipinos are left with fewer options in a deteriorating jobs market. Beyond taking labor figures at face value, job quality should be measured by decent wages and benefits, job security, and labor rights – areas where the Philippines is failing on all counts.
IBON said that to truly create sustainable and decent work for Filipinos, a bold rethink of national priorities is needed. The government’s overreliance on being export- and foreign investment-oriented is more counterproductive than ever, offering little protection from external shocks and even less strategic flexibility. Economic growth and development need to come from a domestic-oriented strategy – driven by rising internal demand that is rooted in a more equitable economy, sustained by increasing production from robust agriculture and the long-overdue development of Filipino industry, which creates more jobs, incomes and surplus to further expand demand.
