QUEZON CITY - Philippine employment rose to 49.21 million in July, but unemployment also increased, preliminary government data show.

The Philippine Statistics Authority’s July 2026 Labor Force Survey release said 49.21 million people were employed, up from 46.05 million a year earlier. The employment rate nevertheless slipped to 94.0% from 94.7%.

The labor force expanded to 52.36 million from 48.64 million in July 2025, while the labor force participation rate rose to 63.6% from 60.7%. That increase outpaced employment growth, leaving 3.14 million people unemployed, compared with 2.59 million a year earlier. The unemployment rate therefore rose to 6.0% from 5.3%.

The July picture also marked a shift from April’s labor figures, when employment stood at 48.89 million, unemployment at 4.7% and underemployment at 15.2%.

Underemployment improved year on year as well as from April. The rate fell to 12.9% from 14.8% in July 2025, with about 6.33 million employed people saying they wanted additional working hours, another job or a new job with longer hours. The Department of Labor and Employment said the underemployed total fell by 473,000 from a year earlier.

Services remained the largest employment sector, accounting for 62.8% of employed people, followed by agriculture at 19.7% and industry at 17.5%.

Agriculture and forestry recorded the biggest annual employment increase, adding 1.03 million workers, while accommodation and food service activities added 729,000. Manufacturing posted the largest annual decline, down 134,000.

Regional unemployment was highest in the National Capital Region at 8.2%, followed by Bicol at 8.0%. Six regions recorded unemployment above the 6.0% national rate.

Among people aged 15 to 24, labor force participation rose to 33.7% from 29.5%, while the youth employment rate slipped to 81.4% from 81.9%. The share of youth not in education, employment or training fell to 15.2% from 15.9%.

In its response to the July labor figures, DOLE said regional offices would intensify job matching and youth employability measures in areas with the sharpest employment contractions.

It said monthly Trabaho Agad job fairs would begin nationwide in September, while partnerships with TESDA and the Department of Migrant Workers would link skills training and livelihood support with employment opportunities, including for returning workers rebuilding their livelihoods.

Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said: “The goal is not only to bring the unemployment rate down, but to put more Filipinos in decent, more productive work.”