Poll campaign, dry season cut jobless to 2-month low
Inquirer file photo
MANILA, Philippines — There’s no business like politics.
With campaign funds flowing and candidates on a hiring spree, the job market got a fresh boost in February, as the proportion of Filipinos who are unemployed or out of business fell to a two-month low, according to government data.
The dry season also spelled a wealth of new jobs, as people began flocking to summer destinations, the figures showed.
There were 1.94 million people without jobs in the second month of 2025, but this was lower than the 2.16 million recorded in January, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.
That translated to an unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, easing from the preceding month’s 4.3 percent.
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Data showed the February jobless rate was the lowest since the 3.1 percent during the December holiday season.
While the Christmas rush might be over, Leonardo Lanzona, a labor economist at Ateneo de Manila University, said the job market received a second wind from the approaching midterm elections.
“The increase in employment can be attributed to election hiring as the elections draw near. Candidates are in full swing of their election campaign, and election funds are now being spent,” Lanzona said.
“We would expect these activities to continue until the elections in May. After which, we can be back to unemployment rates [of] 4 to 5 percent,” he added.
Flip side
At a press conference, national statistician Claire Dennis Mapa also said the notable jump in employment in “other service activities” covered jobs related to political activities.
The segment saw a 232,000 increase in headcount on an annual basis, among the highest across major industries.
But the biggest gain was in the accommodation and food service activities, which added 377,000 jobs year-on-year. Mapa said the sector might have started to feel the usual lift from the vacation season.
On the flip side, employment in agriculture and forestry significantly dropped by 949,000 to 8.42 million in February, as the sector continued to face challenges from climate change and higher food importation.
Other labor market indicators showed positive results.
Figures showed there were 51.09 million Filipinos 15 years old and above who actively searched for jobs in February, higher than the 50.65 million in January. That translated to a labor force participation rate of 64.5 percent, higher than the previous rate of 63.9 percent.
Underemployment rate
Many of those who were able to find work appear to have landed relatively secure jobs.
The PSA reported that the number of employed Filipinos who sought additional jobs or working hours to augment their income fell to 4.96 million in February, from 6.47 million in the preceding month.
That brought the underemployment rate to a nine-month low of 10.1 percent.
Still, more work must be done to ensure stable employment for Filipinos, Lanzona said.
“If we want the unemployment numbers to remain or to improve in the coming months, then the administration would better focus on improving productivity,” he said.
