The Philippines is not simply short of jobs. It is short of jobs that let people live. In 2026, that distinction matters more than ever. With wages lagging and costs rising, millions of Filipinos are technically employed but still unable to keep up. In an economy where even an energy shock hits harder because so many households are already stretched thin, the real crisis is no longer whether people work, but whether that work provides a livable wage.
For years, the labor debate fixated on unemployment, as if the main danger were exclusion from the economy altogether. But the deeper problem is actually underemployment, where workers get trapped in jobs that offer too few hours, too little pay, and no real security.
Why Underemployment Is the Real Labor Crisis
The warning sign came in January 2026, when the unemployment rate rose to 5.8% from 4.4% in December 2025, the highest level since mid-2022. But even that understates the problem. Millions of Filipinos counted
...
Loading comments...