Philippines Unemployment Rises to Three-Year High in July 2025 Amid Agricultural Job Losses
Manila, Philippines – The Philippines’ unemployment rate climbed to a three-year high of 3.7% in July 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), driven largely by job losses in the agriculture sector. This marks the highest unemployment figure since July 2022,when the rate stood at 5.2%. The increase raises concerns about the economic impact of recent weather patterns and its effect on vulnerable workers.The July figure represents an increase from the 3.6% unemployment rate recorded in June 2025. while the overall labor force participation rate remained relatively stable, the agriculture sector shed a significant number of jobs, offsetting gains made in other industries. The Department of Economy, Planning, and Progress (DEPDev) has pledged to intensify efforts to future-proof the workforce and enhance climate resilience in response to these challenges.
According to PSA data, the number of unemployed Filipinos rose to 1.82 million in July, up from 1.78 million the previous month. The agriculture sector experienced a substantial decline in employment, attributed to disruptions caused by unfavorable weather conditions impacting crop production, particularly vegetables.
“Kapag bumalik ang jobs sa weather-sensitive subsectors, particularly vegetables, our expectation is that there will be a reversal of this drop from the previous months and will increase in August,” said Labor Undersecretary Catherine Mapa, expressing optimism for a potential rebound in August as weather conditions improve. (We expect that there will be a reversal of this drop from the previous months and employment will increase in August once jobs in weather-sensitive subsectors, particularly vegetable growing, return.)
In a move to support local farmers, President Ferdinand Marcos jr. has suspended rice imports for 60 days to protect their income amidst adequate supply and lower market prices.DEPDev secretary Arsenio Balisacan emphasized the need to modernize economic sectors to withstand future disruptions, stating, “The latest employment figures underscore the urgency of modernizing our economic sectors to withstand disruptions, whether from climate change or technological shifts. We are also fully committed to enhancing employability, expanding labor market programs, and collaborating with key stakeholders to future-proof the Filipino workforce.”
The PSA is scheduled to release employment data for August later this month, which will provide further insight into the sustainability of this trend.
