Philippines Unemployment rate (annual) in Philippines

International Monetary Fund · Annual · Importance

IMF forecast (WEO): 2026: 4.7% 2027: 4.6% 2028: 4.5% 2029: 4.4% 2030: 4.4% 2031: 4.4%
9.7% (1999) ANUAL · % · Annual · CSV
Period%
Jan 1999 9.7%
Jan 1998 10.1%
Jan 1997 8.7%
Jan 1996 8.5%
Jan 1995 9.5%
Jan 1994 9.5%
Jan 1993 9.3%
Jan 1992 9.8%
Jan 1991 10.5%
Jan 1990 8.4%

About this indicator

Source
International Monetary Fund
Frequency
Annual
Release
Published annually, covering the full year and subject to revision.
What it is
Measures the share of the Philippine labour force that is without work and actively seeking a job. Compiled by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), it is the benchmark indicator of its labour market.
How it's calculated
It is drawn from the PSA Labour Force Survey (LFS) applying the ILO definition of unemployment. It is presented here as an annual percentage of the labour force, an average of the readings over the year.
Market implications
The unemployment rate measures a young, fast-growing economy's ability to absorb its labour force. A tight labour market supports domestic consumption; its trend, together with underemployment, informs Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas policy and can influence the peso.
Limitations
In the Philippines open unemployment tends to be low, but underemployment and informal work are very high, so the rate alone overstates the market's strength. The large number of overseas workers and data revisions qualify the figure.