Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma on Thursday said that the agency continues to intensify its effort to create job opportunities for Filipinos, especially on youth employability and delivery of public employment services.
Laguesma issued this statement after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released the September 2025 Labor Force Survey, which noted that the unemployment rate for that month fell to 3.8 percent, slightly lower than August’s 3.9 percent. This translated to 1.96 unemployed individuals in September, compared to August’s 2.03 million. With this, Laguesma said that the ‘Philippine labor market remains resilient and stable’ despite the 0.1 percent decline in the employment rate of 96.2 percent in September 2025 compared to September 2024’s 96.3.
The PSA also noted that the number of employed Filipinos declined annually from 49.87 million in September 2024.
The PSA said that the underemployment rate rose to 11.1 percent, which was higher than August’s 10.7 percent. This means that there are some 5.52 million underemployed Filipinos, or those seeking additional jobs or working hours to augment their income.
Meanwhile, Laguesma pointed out the sectors which showed employment growth, such as construction, fishing and aquaculture, accommodation and food service activities, human health and social work activities, and agriculture and forestry.
Laguesma noted that efforts to provide sustainable livelihoods include strengthening the nationwide network of Public Employment Service Offices, which he said is key to ensuring that every Filipino worker lives with dignity. Laguesma also shared that the agency collaborates with the Department of Education and Commission on Education ‘to strengthen education-to-employment pathways by enhancing labor market information sharing, aligning curriculum with in-demand skills, and supporting better school-to-work transitions.’
Aside from this, the secretary said that the agency is expecting job opportunities in the enhancement of public employment services as the Philippines hosts the 2025 World Association of Public Employment.
‘Among the key topics to be discussed include the technology in PES as support for school-to-work transition, increase of elders’ employability in an ageing society, influences on Overseas Workers’ policies to secure the Labor Force in a shrinking working-age population, and skills shortages, and effective utilization of digital platform in addressing demographic changes,’ Laguesma added.