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Child labor continues rising — gov’t data

Despite the increase in the number of working children, the number engaged in child labor remained below 2023 levels.

Mico Virata · Jul 17, 2026, 12:53 AM

CHILDHOOD interrupted A young sampaguita vendor waits for customers along Roxas Boulevard, corner P. Ocampo Street in Manila. While many children continue to work on the streets to support their families, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the number of working children aged 5 to 17 rose to 868,540 in 2025, up from the previous year. The sight of children earning a living instead of enjoying their childhood underscores the continuing challenge of eliminating child labor. — DAILY TRIBUNE IMAGES

The number of Filipino children entering the workforce slightly increased in 2025, with nearly 869,000 children aged 5 to 17 years old reported as working, according to preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The PSA estimated that 868,540 children were working in 2025, up from 861,450 in 2024, but lower than the 1.09 million recorded in 2023. The share of working children also rose to 3.1 percent of the total child population from 2.7 percent a year earlier.

Despite the increase in the number of working children, the number engaged in child labor remained below 2023 levels.

PSA data showed that 513,650 working children were involved in child labor in 2025, slightly higher than the 509,160 recorded in 2024 but lower than the 678,360 in 2023.

According to the PSA’s Survey on Children, “working children” is the broader category, and “child laborers” is a subset of it.

Working children are aged 5 to 17 who engage in economic activity, paid or unpaid, for at least one hour during the reference week, while child laborers are those whose work involves conditions that the law prohibits or restricts for minors.

Boys continued to account for the majority of working children, making up 61.6 percent of the total, while girls represented 38.4 percent. Among child laborers, boys comprised 72.7 percent or 373,650.

Biggest employer, services

The services sector remained the largest employer of working children at 48.7 percent, followed by agriculture at 41.2 percent and industry at 10.1 percent. However, agriculture accounted for the biggest share of child laborers at 65.5 percent.

Children aged 15 to 17 years old made up the largest portion of both working children and child laborers, accounting for 73.5 percent and 80.5 percent, respectively. The PSA said the figures highlight the continuing need for stronger measures to protect children from unsafe work while addressing economic pressures that push minors into employment.