MANILA, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in November 2025, down from 5 percent in October 2025, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released on Wednesday.
PSA Chief Claire Dennis Mapa said in a press conference that about 2.25 million Filipinos were out of work in November last year, down from 2.54 million in the previous month.
The November unemployment figure was higher than the 1.66 million unemployed recorded in November 2024, when the jobless rate stood at 3.2 percent.
"Job losses were high in subsectors where severe typhoons during the period disrupted the economic activity, affecting 873,000 workers, including accommodations and food service activities, wholesale and retail trade, other service activities, and fishing and aquaculture," said Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan in a statement.
The country's chief economist said that the government has been intensifying efforts to enhance workforce competitiveness and business resilience to address the impact of persistent global and domestic headwinds, as well as climate-related disruptions. ■