TAGUIG CITY (MindaNews / 10 June 2026) — The headline sounds encouraging:

Unemployment fell for the third straight month.

But if you stop reading there, you miss the more important story.

The deeper story is that while fewer Filipinos are officially counted as unemployed, millions more are struggling to find enough work, enough hours, and enough income to keep up with rising prices.

In other words, the problem is no longer just joblessness.

It is inadequate livelihoods.

According to the April 2026 Labor Force Survey, unemployment eased to 4.7 percent, equivalent to 2.41 million Filipinos, down from 5.0 percent in March.

Yet at the same time, underemployment surged to 15.2 percent, affecting 7.41 million workers. These are Filipinos who already have jobs but are still looking for additional work, longer hours, or better-paying opportunities because what they earn today is not enough.

That figure alone should command attention.

More than seven million Filipinos are telling us that having a job does not necessarily mean having sufficient income.

And the trend is worsening.

Since February, the number of underemployed Filipinos has increased by roughly 1.6 million. It is now at its highest level in four years.

Meanwhile, total employment has actually declined by more than half a million workers over the last two months, falling from February’s level to just under 49 million employed Filipinos by April.

This creates an apparent contradiction.

How can unemployment fall while employment also falls?

Part of the answer lies in labor force participation.

The Labor Force Survey classifies many Filipinos as “not in the labor force” rather than unemployed. This group includes those who are not actively looking for work according to survey definitions. In April, the number of Filipinos categorized as not in the labor force increased by more than one million to 30.5 million.

For ordinary households, however, statistical categories matter less than practical realities.

The electric bill arrives whether someone is counted as unemployed or not.

Rice prices do not wait for methodological explanations.

School fees, transport costs, medicines, rent, and food must still be paid.

This is why the surge in underemployment may be the most revealing indicator in the entire report.

It measures something many families already feel every day.

A tricycle driver who gets fewer passengers.

A sales clerk whose hours have been cut.

A construction worker waiting for the next project.

A food delivery rider competing with hundreds of others for the same orders.

A young graduate piecing together part-time work while searching for something more stable.

All of them may technically be employed.

Yet all of them may still be financially vulnerable.

Some observers point to seasonality, noting that agriculture, retail trade, accommodation and food services, and construction posted employment gains during the period.

There is truth in that.

Planting and harvest cycles do create seasonal demand for labor.

Tourism and holidays affect hiring patterns.

Construction activity fluctuates.

But families do not experience their expenses seasonally.

Their need for food, transportation, medicine, housing, and education is constant.

And when inflation remains elevated, every interruption in income becomes more painful.

This is why labor statistics cannot be read separately from prices.

The labor market and the cost of living are two sides of the same household budget.

A worker who earned enough two years ago may no longer earn enough today.

A family that once managed its expenses comfortably may now find itself borrowing before payday.

A job that was once adequate may now require a second job to sustain the same standard of living.

That is precisely what rising underemployment is telling us.

The Philippine economy is still creating jobs.

But it is not creating enough quality jobs.

Nor is it creating enough income growth to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

The challenge becomes even more urgent as global uncertainties mount. The recent spike in oil prices following tensions in the Middle East threatens to raise transport costs, food prices, electricity expenses, and business operating costs. Every oil shock eventually finds its way into household budgets.

Which brings us to the real “What Now?” question.

What should Filipinos watch?

Not just unemployment.

Watch underemployment.

Watch wages.

Watch labor force participation.

Watch food prices.

Watch fuel prices.

Because these indicators together tell a more complete story of economic well-being than unemployment alone.

For policymakers, the message is equally clear.

The goal should not simply be more jobs.

The goal should be more productive jobs, better-paying jobs, and jobs that allow families to live with greater security and dignity.

For households, the lesson is practical.

Protect cash flow.

Reduce expensive debt.

Build emergency savings whenever possible.

Invest in skills that increase earning power.

Create multiple sources of income where feasible.

Because in today’s economy, employment alone is no longer the dividing line between security and vulnerability.

Income adequacy is.

The April labor figures remind us that the country’s economic challenge is no longer merely helping Filipinos find work.

It is helping work provide a decent life.

And until that happens, millions of Filipinos will continue to experience what the statistics only partially reveal:

The quiet frustration of working hard, yet still struggling to get ahead.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Marriz B. Agbon is a Mindanawon now based in Taguig City, a chamber executive and development professional who previously led agribusiness promotion initiatives in government, working with private sector groups and chambers of commerce to strengthen regional economies. A graduate of the SBEP program of the University of Asia and the Pacific, he has spent much of his career at the intersection of business, policy, and enterprise development. In recent years, he has turned increasingly to writing – reflecting on aging, endurance sports, family history, and the quiet lessons of everyday life. He writes another column for MindaNews – “South of the 8th Parallel” – every Sunday.)