In April 2025, the average Filipino employee worked 39.9 hours a week, down from 40.5 hours a year earlier and 40.4 hours in January, new data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
This dip in hours came even as total employment rose to 48.67 million, up from 48.35 million in April 2024.
At the same time, 7.09 million workers said they wanted longer hours or an extra job, underscoring the persistent underemployment rate of 14.6 percent.
The number of people who worked just one hour a week also ticked up to 65,000, a sign that some jobs offer little stability.
Headline figures
The labor force participation rate slipped to 63.7 percent, meaning fewer Filipinos were working or actively seeking work compared to the 64.1 percent rate in April 2024.
Unemployment inched up to 4.1 percent in April from 4 percent the year before, with 2.06 million Filipinos actively seeking work.
Still, this was an improvement from January’s 4.3 percent rate, suggesting conditions may be stabilizing.
Winners and losers
• Administrative support led job growth with 394,000 new positions in April 2025.
• Public administration and defense added 262,000 jobs, while agriculture and forestry gained 260,000.
• Construction and education followed with 121,000 and 66,000 additional jobs, respectively.
• Manufacturing suffered the biggest job loss, shedding 410,000 workers year-on-year.
• Other major job declines were seen in services (-183,000), food and accommodation (-141,000), arts and recreation (-63,000), and retail trade (-57,000).
