The Philippines unemployment rate rose to 5.8% in January, up from 4.4% in December 2025, striking the highest rate since June 2022, reported the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Friday.

The total number employed in the Philippines declined to 47.94 million in January from 49.42 million in December 2025, led by agriculture and forestry, which lost 1.76 million jobs and wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, which lost 888,000 jobs.

Some job losses in January were driven by sluggish hiring after the holiday season, while typhoons and flooding have damaged livelihoods in certain Philippine agricultural regions.

In contrast, the number of jobs in manufacturing rose by 546,000 in January from December 2025, while those in the category of other services rose by 248,000 and those in transportation and storage gained by 238,000.

The Philippines labor force in January worked largely in services, with 63.6% of total workers, followed by industry at 18.3% and agriculture at 18.1%, reported the PSA.

The nation's underemployment rate, which adds those seeking additional work to the unemployment rate, rose to 13.2% in January from 8% in December 2025.

The outlook for Philippine employment in 2026 is generally positive, if recent forecasts from the nation's central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, are on target.

The nation's gross domestic product is expected to expand by 4.6% in 2026, after 4.4% growth in 2025, the central bank estimated in mid-February.