By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
In a press conference on Friday, National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa shared the results of the September 2026 Labor Force Survey, which shows the status of the domestic workforce through four key parameters.
Chief among these is the labor force participation rate, which is recorded at 64.5%—slightly higher than the 64.0% observed in August 2026—representing 53.19 million Filipinos aged 15 and above in the labor force.
Another notable parameter would be the unemployment rate, which saw a marginal increase to 5.4% from 5.3% in August 2026, accounting for 2.86 million unemployed persons in September compared to 2.77 million in the preceding month.
For the employment rate, 94.6% was recorded for the month of September, down from 94.7% observed in August 2026—representing 50.32 million employed persons.
While the employment rate had a marginal decrease, the number of participants in the workforce has actually increased from 49.79 million in August 2026.
The following sectors drove up the number of newly employed individuals in September 2026:
- Accommodation and Food Service Activities (834,000)
- Transportation and Storage (254,000)
- Other Service Activities (174,000)
- Agriculture and Forestry (139,000)
- Public Administration and Defense; Compulsory Social Security (117,000)
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a media release, “In September 2026, the underemployment rate was recorded at 11.0%, slightly lower than the 11.1% estimate in September 2025 and the rate of 11.9% in August 2026.”
This figure in particular adds context to the recorded quantity of employees in the workforce, for it means that more employed individuals have gained access to jobs with better compensation, benefits, and working conditions, all without having to work additional hours or having an additional job—accounting for 5.56 million of the 50.32 million employed persons.
Rounding up PSA’s report, youth labor and employment rose to 34.1% in September 2026, up from 32.7% in August 2026, indicative of the younger generation’s increasing participation in the nation’s bottomline.
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