Nearly 1 in 3 employed Western Visayans wants more work

Philippine Statistics Authority-Regional Statistical Services Office VI reported that about 806,000 people in Western Visayas were either unemployed or underemployed in April 2026, based on preliminary results of the Labor Force Survey. (Photo courtesy of PSA-RSSO 6)

By Mariela Angella Oladive

ILOILO CITY – Nearly one in three employed people in Western Visayas wanted more work in April 2026, with 665,000 of the region’s 2,093,000 employed persons classified as underemployed, according to preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority-Regional Statistical Services Office VI (PSA-RSSO 6).

That put the region’s underemployment rate at 31.8%, up from 24.3% in April 2025 and 17.3% in January 2026.

The PSA counts as underemployed those who have work but want additional hours in their present job, an additional job, or a new job with longer working hours.

Together with 141,000 unemployed individuals, the figures brought to 806,000 the number of people age 15 and older in the Western Visayas labor force who were either out of work or wanting more of it.

The number of unemployed rose from 92,000 in April 2025 and 122,000 in January 2026.

That brought the region’s unemployment rate to 6.3%, up from 4% in April 2025 and 5.5% in January.

The PSA defines unemployed persons as those without work who are available for work and are seeking work.

Underemployed persons are those who have work but want additional hours in their present job, an additional job, or a new job with longer working hours.

Western Visayas had an estimated 3.52 million people age 15 and older in April, of whom 2,234,000 were in the labor force.

Of that number, 2,093,000 were employed, slightly higher than the 2,087,000 recorded in January but lower than the 2,195,000 posted in April 2025.

The region’s employment rate fell to 93.7%, from 96% in April 2025 and 94.5% in January.

The labor force participation rate stood at 63.4%, up from 62.9% in January but lower than the 66% recorded a year earlier.

The figures show a region that still holds more than two million people in work, but where a growing share of labor market participants either have no job at all or want more hours than their current one provides.

The Labor Force Survey is the government’s primary source of official employment statistics and is fielded quarterly, with rounds in January, April, July, and October.

The PSA’s April 2026 Labor Force Survey figures are preliminary estimates based on the 2015 Population Projections.