Abdiel Franz Bernales

The Philippines has the second-highest unemployment rate in the region, despite the Marcos Jr. administration’s claims of a “robust” labor market, according to a recent IBON Foundation report from January 16, 2025.

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The latest data shows that the Philippines faces some of the worst unemployment rates in Southeast Asia.

 The country's unemployment rate dropped significantly from 7.8% in 2021 to 3.2% in November 2024. However, it still lags behind most of its regional peers, tying with Malaysia but trailing behind Vietnam (2.3%), Singapore (1.9%), and Thailand (1.0%).

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, registered a 4.9% unemployment rate as of August 2024, the Philippines' rate remains concerning, especially considering its relatively minor labor force. 

The Marcos Jr. administration's claim that "better-quality jobs, higher incomes" are among its priorities is questionable, given that many jobs created are informal and low-paying. 

The government has acknowledged the need to improve job quality and incomes but failed to implement effective measures to create decent and sustainable jobs.

IBON criticizes the Marcos Jr. administration for focusing on surface-level statistics while neglecting the plight of millions of Filipinos stuck in low-wage, poor-quality jobs. 

According to official labor force figures, employment grew by 2.2 million to 49.9 million in September 2024, up from 47.7 million in the same month the previous year, while unemployment declined by 370,000 to 1.9 million from 2.3 million. 

The number of underemployed workers increased significantly from 831,000 to 5.9 million, from 5.1 million.

Employment in the Philippines remains plagued by widespread informality, with many Filipinos forced into insecure, temporary, or irregular jobs with low earnings to support themselves and their families. 

The government's primary basis for claiming success—a narrow and overly optimistic measure of economic growth—is also questionable.

 It insists that last year, the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) growth placed it "among the best-performing economies in Asia," with expectations of even faster growth this year.

The country's 5.9% GDP growth in the third quarter of 2023 was the fastest reported in the region—higher than Vietnam (5.3%), Indonesia (4.9%), Malaysia (3.3%), Thailand (1.5%), and Singapore (1.1%) for the same period, and far better than Brunei's 3.1% contraction in the second quarter. However, this surge in figures is misleading.

Southeast Asia, as a whole, has shown relatively low unemployment rates, with several countries maintaining figures below 3%. Vietnam and Singapore, with their strong manufacturing and services sectors, remain benchmarks for economic resilience and job creation.

The Philippines' recent progress highlights the need for sustained, strategic reforms to improve job opportunities and working conditions and address structural challenges.

Its relatively high unemployment rate points to ongoing issues with job quality, economic competitiveness, labor market inefficiencies, and vulnerability to inequality—unlike more resilient economies in Southeast Asia.