The Department of Finance (DoF) welcomes a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report pointing to a 5.1 percent decline in unemployment in February, from 5.8 percent in January 2026, an indication that labor market conditions in the country are improving.

“This is positive news as it shows the government’s ongoing commitment to generate quality jobs that uplift Filipinos and support the growth of the economy,” said Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go.

In absolute terms, the number of unemployed Filipinos fell to around 2.66 million to 2.7 million, down from nearly 3 million in January, while total employment rose to about 49.43 million, translating to a 94.9 percent employment rate.

However, despite the month-on-month improvement, labor market conditions remain weaker compared to a year ago.

The unemployment rate was significantly higher than the 3.8 percent recorded in February last year, while the number of jobless Filipinos exceeded the 1.94 million posted a year earlier.

PSA data also showed that the labor force expanded to 52.09 million as more Filipinos entered the job market.

Not all were absorbed

However, not all were absorbed into employment; of nearly 1 million new entrants, only about 271,000 secured jobs, leaving hundreds of thousands still unemployed.

Underemployment, or those seeking additional work, declined to 5.8 million (11.8 percent) from 6.3 million in January, but remained higher than year-ago levels, indicating ongoing challenges in job quality and income stability.