MCT DAILY BRIEF | AUGUST 7, 2026

THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYED FILIPINOS ROSE, BUT UNEMPLOYMENT ALSO INCREASED

The estimated number of employed Filipinos reached 50.66 million in June, up from 49.63 million in May.

At the same time, the unemployment rate increased slightly from 4.8 percent to 4.9 percent. About 2.59 million Filipinos were unemployed in June, compared with roughly 2.50 million in May.

The reason both numbers can rise at the same time is that the labor force also became larger. About 53.25 million Filipinos were either working or looking for work in June, up from 52.13 million in May.

Underemployment was 12.1 percent, representing about 6.11 million employed Filipinos who wanted more working hours, another job, or a job with longer hours. That was slightly lower than May’s 12.2 percent but higher than the 11.4 percent recorded in June last year.

Young workers had weaker numbers compared with a year earlier. The employment rate among Filipinos aged 15 to 24 fell to 86.5 percent from 90.6 percent in June 2025.

The industries also moved in very different directions. Accommodation and food services, administrative support, government, education, and arts and recreation recorded some of the larger employment gains compared with a year earlier.

Wholesale and retail trade, meanwhile, lost an estimated 903,000 workers compared with June last year. Fishing and aquaculture lost around 467,000.

The June Labor Force Survey does not track the same individual workers from one month to the next, so it would be wrong to say that one million Filipinos personally “found jobs.” What the survey shows is that the estimated number of employed people increased while the number of unemployed people also rose.

FACTORY PRODUCTION ROSE FROM MAY, WHILE SALES WERE ALMOST FLAT

Philippine manufacturing production increased in June compared with May.

After seasonal adjustments, both the value and volume of factory production increased 1.6 percent from the previous month.

Food manufacturing helped push production higher. Its production value increased 4.5 percent from May, while production volume rose 4.2 percent.

Sales were much weaker month to month.

The value of manufacturing sales fell 0.6 percent from May, while the volume of sales increased only 0.1 percent. Food manufacturers recorded declines in both sales measures.

That monthly picture should not be confused with the longer comparison. Manufacturing production and sales were still higher than they were in June last year.

The June report therefore shows factories producing more than they did in May while sales barely moved during the same period.

One month is not enough to tell us whether that gap will continue.

AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES RETURNED TO GROWTH IN THE SECOND QUARTER

The value of Philippine agriculture and fisheries production reached ₱452.22 billion at constant 2018 prices during the second quarter.

That was 2.9 percent higher than a year earlier.

The result was an improvement from the first quarter, when agriculture and fisheries contracted by 0.3 percent compared with the same period last year.

All four major groups grew during the second quarter.

Crop production increased 1.6 percent. Palay grew 5.7 percent, while corn increased 0.8 percent.

Livestock increased 3.6 percent, helped by a 5.6-percent rise in hog production.

Poultry recorded the strongest growth among the four groups at 6.3 percent, while fisheries increased 2.7 percent.

The numbers show that farm and fisheries production recovered from the first-quarter contraction.

They do not mean food will automatically become cheaper.

This PSA report measures agricultural production. Consumer prices are measured separately, and the price people eventually pay in markets and supermarkets can move differently from farm output.

THE UNITED STATES HAS FORMALLY ASKED THE PHILIPPINES TO EXTRADITE APOLLO QUIBOLOY

The United States has formally requested the extradition of Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder Apollo Quiboloy.

The Department of Foreign Affairs received the request and forwarded it to the Department of Justice.

That does not mean Quiboloy will immediately be sent to the United States.

The request must go through the Philippine extradition process, while Quiboloy also continues to face cases before Philippine courts.

U.S. prosecutors charged Quiboloy with conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, along with sex-trafficking counts. The broader U.S. indictment against several Kingdom of Jesus Christ defendants contains other allegations.

Quiboloy has denied wrongdoing.

He also faces Philippine cases involving qualified human trafficking and alleged violations of the Anti-Child Abuse Law.

The Philippine government now has to deal with a formal extradition request while those local cases remain pending.

Philippine proceedings do not automatically make extradition impossible, and the treaty allows legal questions over timing and custody to be addressed through the process.

CLASS SUSPENSIONS NOW NEED CLEARER LANGUAGE ABOUT ONLINE LEARNING

Another round of weather-related class suspensions has brought back a question students and parents increasingly have to ask.

When government announces that classes are suspended, does that also mean online classes are cancelled?

Under Department of Education rules, the answer can depend on the situation.

Schools are required to prepare learning-continuity plans for disasters and other emergencies. Those plans can include online classes, modules, printed materials, blended learning, and other ways of continuing lessons when students cannot safely report to school.

Some suspension rules apply specifically to face-to-face classes and allow alternative learning to continue where conditions permit.

More severe weather conditions can lead to broader suspensions covering both classes and school work.

That creates a problem when public announcements simply say “classes suspended” without explaining what happens to online learning.

Students can end up waiting for separate instructions from their school while parents try to work out whether a suspension means no travel, no classroom attendance, or no classes at all.

There are also practical limits to online learning during bad weather. Students dealing with flooding, power interruptions, evacuation, or weak internet connections may not be in a position to attend an online class just because they are physically at home.

Government suspension notices would be much more useful if they clearly stated whether they cover only face-to-face classes or all forms of instruction.