Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said government interventions would help improve labor market conditions.

"Our priority is to expand opportunities for Filipinos to have quality jobs. We will help you find the right and decent job, strengthen training, and provide the necessary support, especially for those affected by climate change," Recto said in a statement on Sept. 11, 2025.

The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier reported that the country recorded 48.64 million Filipinos in the labor force.

A slight uptick in unemployment, however, was recorded due to weather disturbances that temporarily affected jobs in the agriculture, fishery, forestry, and construction sectors.

To address this, Recto said the government is committed to expanding rural infrastructure, improving digital connectivity, and increasing access to training opportunities in the agriculture sector.

He said the government continues to expand job facilitation efforts and improve monitoring of employment data to inform policymaking.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) widened job matching efforts through upgraded platforms like PhilJobNet and local job fairs, including the World Café of Opportunities in Abra, offering more than 5,000 vacancies.

Recto said a new data-sharing agreement between DOLE and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) would help improve labor market analysis and policy planning.

To improve employability, the government also put in place training programs, such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s technical-vocational training to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries.

The government also distributed starter toolkits to Special Training for Employment Program graduates.

Recto said that more flexible and community-based learning modalities were rolled out in Ilocos, while a TESDA-TCL partnership established a specialized training center for domestic refrigeration.

The government also launched the AI Academy to equip the workforce for the future, particularly in automation and machine learning.