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Unemployment fell by 0.2 percentage points to 6.1% in 2Q 2025 — marking the third straight quarter of decline — down from 6.3% in 1Q 2025, according to data from state statistics agency Capmas. The figure also comes 0.4 percentage points lower than the 6.5% recorded in 2Q 2024.
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Labor force growth drove the improvement: The labor force expanded 0.5% q-o-q to 33.6 mn people, as the number of employed individuals rose by 223k and the number of those unemployed fell by 57k.
The gender gap persists: Male unemployment dipped to 3.5% during the period, compared to 3.6% in 1Q 2025 and 4.2% during 2Q 2024. Female unemployment eased to 15.8% from 16.4% in the prior quarter and 17.3% in 2Q 2024.
The young people's struggle for jobs got worse: Those aged 15-29 represented 59.8% of the total unemployed, up from 58.6% during the last quarter. Capmas doesn’t publish a separate youth unemployment rate.
Rural areas continue to outperform: Urban unemployment inched down to 9.7% from 9.8% in 1Q 2025 and from 10.0% in the same period last year. Meanwhile, rural unemployment fell by 0.3 percentage points to 3.3% from 3.6% in the previous quarter and dropped by 0.5 percentage points y-o-y.
More self-employment, fewer salaried roles: Salaried workers accounted for 68.1% of total employment in 2Q 2025, down 1.6 percentage points q-o-q and 5.5 percentage points y-o-y. Meanwhile, the self-employed made up 23.2%, up 1.2 percentage points q-o-q and 4.1 percentage points y-o-y. This reflects a continuing trend in the labor force composition. In addition, business owners made up 4.0% of those employed, down from 4.3% in 1Q 2025, but up from 3.0% a year earlier, while those working for family businesses rose to 4.7%, from 4.0% in 1Q 2025 and from 4.3% a year ago.
REMEMBER- The unemployment rate excludes working-age people not seeking work. The labor force participation rate — which counts everyone aged 15-64 either in work or actively looking for work — stood at 45.5% in 2Q 2025, compared to 45.8% in 1Q 2025 and 43.4% in 2Q 2024.
