Unemployment stays at 4.4% in December 2025 amid construction job losses

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ unemployment rate remained at 4.4% in December 2025 as job losses in the construction sector offset the service sector’s gains from the holiday season, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday, February 6.

The jobless rate is equivalent to 2.26 million Filipinos, slightly higher than the 2.25 million unemployed Filipinos recorded in November and the 3.1% or 1.63 million Filipinos logged in December 2024.

December’s figure also places the Philippines’ average unemployment rate for 2025 at 4.2%, higher than the 3.8% average jobless rate in 2024.

Meanwhile, underemployment eased to 8%, equivalent to 3.93 million Filipinos, from 10.4% or 5.11 million underemployed Filipinos in November.

National Statistician Dennis Mapa said employment in administrative and support service activities such as temporary job agencies and call centers increased by 385,000 year-on-year. The accommodation and food service activities sector also added around 280,000 jobs amid the holiday season.

However, these gains were offset by huge losses in construction and transportation jobs. The construction sector shed 550,000 jobs year-on-year, while the transport and storage industry lost around 258,000 workers.

Mapa attributed the construction job losses to historic lows in construction activity in the fourth quarter amid the flood control corruption scandal.

“And we know na-report natin noong fourth quarter GDP (gross domestic product), ‘di ba, na ‘yung fourth quarter, bumaba talaga…negative growth rate doon sa construction, particularly public construction,” he explained.

(And we know from our report on the fourth quarter GDP that the construction industry suffered a negative growth rate, particularly public construction.)

Image from Philippine Statistics Authority

The PSA earlier reported that the construction industry contracted by 41.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025 as the ongoing investigation into anomalous flood control projects hampered public construction activities.

The drastic drop in construction activity in the country was one of the reasons why the Philippine economy grew by just 3% that quarter, below analysts’ expectations.

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The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) in a statement said the latest job figures indicate a slowdown in labor market momentum.

DEPDev Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon even noted that the share of discouraged workers — jobseekers who have given up because they believe there are no jobs available — increased to 7.7% from 6.3% in December 2024.

“As we make 2026 a rally point to revitalize [the Philippine Development Plan] implementation, we will prioritize employment creation by restoring consumer and business confidence, reduce the cost of doing business, encourage innovation, and expand training and reskilling opportunities,” she said.

Edillon added that the government is working to resume and hasten the completion of delayed infrastructure projects and prioritize the creation of high-value jobs by strengthening the capacity of high-value sectors such as the business process management industry.

“If we can expand global capability centers and develop specialized digital services, we can generate high-value jobs and enhance the country’s competitive position in the global market,” she explained. – Rappler.com