Fresh figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that agriculture employed 10.44 million Filipinos in October, accounting for 21.5 percent of the country’s 48.62 million workers.
This made agriculture the second-largest source of employment after the services sector, and slightly higher than its 21.2 percent share a year earlier.
Seasonal surge, structural concern
The sector’s employment jump was most evident when compared with July figures. Agricultural jobs increased by 1.85 million from about 8.5 million workers, representing the largest employment gain among all major sectors during the period.
However, this rise likely reflects seasonal harvest cycles rather than sustained growth, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a press release.
Of those employed in agriculture, about 88 percent work in farming and forestry, while nearly 12 percent are engaged in fishing and aquaculture—subsectors also heavily influenced by weather and production cycles.
Push for more permanent jobs
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, in the same press statement, said the data underscore the urgency of long-term reforms that can stabilize employment in the countryside.
“If the Department of Agriculture can create more permanent jobs by building the right infrastructure—including food hubs, cold storage facilities, agricultural ports, and food processing complexes—we will not only uplift the lives of those who till our lands and fish our seas,” Tiu Laurel said. “We will also position agriculture as a far stronger contributor to the broader economy.”
Underemployment remains high
The PSA also reported that agriculture accounted for 32.9 percent of the country’s 2.54 million underemployed workers in October, or nearly four out of every ten Filipinos seeking additional or better work.
Tiu Laurel said the challenge is clear. “Agriculture can create jobs quickly, but the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture is to ensure those jobs become lasting and stable,” he said. —Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
