The unemployment rate in April rose slightly to 4.1 percent from 4 percent in the same month last year, with the most significant decrease in manufacturing workers, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Friday.

Preliminary data from the government agency showed that the number of jobless Filipinos increased to 2.06 million from 2.04 million year-on-year.

The manufacturing sector lost the highest number of workers at 410,000.

National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Claire Dennis Mapa associated the decline with the slower export activities for semiconductors and other electronic products.

“The first sub-sector affected by external market conditions was the semiconductor and other electronic components with 76,000 fewer workers,” he said in a media briefing.

The data came amid threats of Trump’s tariffs on imports to the United States which economists said disrupt expansion plans of businesses worldwide and limit their export markets to some extent.

Sales of exported electronic products in April declined to $3.41 billion from $3.6 billion in the same month of 2024 based on preliminary data from the national statistician.

Mapa also said that manufacturing workers for plastics, food products, and garments also decreased by 42,000 to 51,000.

However, based on data from January to April, the agriculture sector posted the biggest drop in workers at 324,000.

Jobs down on mechanization

Mapa said this was partly caused by the wider use of machines among farmers instead of human support based on data from the Department of Agriculture.

“Some farmers also shifted to the construction industry, while others are discouraged by lower retail prices of rice,” he said.

Mapa added that 129,000 Filipinos said they are still waiting for the results of their job applications, while 42,000 said they are waiting to be rehired.

Thus, the employment rate also inched down to 95.9 percent from 96 percent year-on-year.

Mapa said the decline is linked to a bigger total number of jobseekers at 50.74 million, expanding from 50.4 million during the same period.

“We saw a higher labor participation rate due to the country’s growing population, and some job applicants were absorbed while the others were not,” he said.

Most Filipinos found jobs in administrative and support service and public administration and defense.

However, the underemployment rate remained steady at 14.6 percent, as the number of underemployed or those seeking longer work hours or new jobs slightly changed from 7.04 million to 7.09 million year-on-year.

“Despite the slight uptick in unemployment, the Philippine labor market continues to demonstrate resilience amid global headwinds,” said Department of Economy, Planning, and Development officer-in-charge and Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon.

“We remain on track to meet our target unemployment range of 4.4 to 4.7 percent set under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028,” she added.

To ensure strong labor data, the government implements several programs to accelerate job security for high school and college graduates.