Ecop cites investment gap in rising unemployment By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
T
HE country’s weak investment environment is limiting the ability of businesses to absorb new entrants into the labor force, contributing to the recent increase in unemployment, according to the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop). Ecop Chairman Sergio OrtizLuis Jr. said the country adds around 800,000 to 1 million new job seekers each year, but employment generation has struggled to keep pace because of insufficient investments. “In the past, we were able to absorb them, including moving some workers from the informal to the formal sector. But because of the
HISTORY’S NEXT CHAPTER Alexandra Eala celebrates a point against United States “Alycia Parks” serve during a National Bank Open tennis match in Toronto on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. The victory came just days after Eala captured the biggest title of her career at the Mubadala DC Open—her first WTA Tour singles crown—where she defeated a star-studded field that included top-ranked opponents before beating Jessica Pegula in the final. Riding that breakthrough, the Filipino ace continued her winning momentum in Toronto, fueling hopes for another deep tournament run. Story in A16, Sports. CHRIS YOUNG/THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP
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lack of investment, we are losing the opportunity to employ them,” Ortiz-Luis said in a televised interview on Thursday. The comments came after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on the same day that unemployment rose to 4.9 percent in June, equivalent to 2.59 million jobless Filipinos, from 4.8 percent or 2.50 million in May and 3.7 percent or 1.95 million a year earlier. Although the unemployment numbers increased, total employment also climbed to 50.66 million in June from 49.63 million in May and 50.47 million in the same month last year. Meanwhile, the number of underemployed Filipinos reached 6.11 million, up from 6.04 million
in May and 5.76 million in June 2025. The underemployment rate eased slightly to 12.1 percent from 12.2 percent in May, but remained higher than 11.4 percent a year earlier. Ortiz-Luis said underemployment is less of a concern for employers than outright joblessness, noting that workers with parttime or insufficient employment still have a source of income. “The underemployed at least have something. What is important is that fewer people remain unemployed,” he said.
Wage hike, TRO
ORTIZ-LUIS also reiterated Ecop’s position on the temporary restraining order (TRO) that suspended the implementation of the
P85 minimum wage increase in Metro Manila. While Ecop opposed the size of the wage adjustment during deliberations before the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board, Ortiz-Luis said the employers’ group accepts the board’s final decision. “For the first time…we dissented from agreeing to the P85 [increase] because we thought the measures that were used were the usual measures,” he said. Ecop had proposed a P50 increase, to be implemented in two tranches of P30 and P20, but was outvoted by representatives from the government and labor sectors. “We respect the decision and we will abide by it,” Ortiz-Luis said. See “Ecop,” A2
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
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NOT ENOUGH JOBS FOR NEW ENTRANTS IN JUNE www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Friday, August 7, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 297
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By Justine Xyrah Garcia
LTHOUGH more Filipinos were employed in June, economists warned that the country still faces a two-front challenge: the economy is struggling to absorb new entrants, while millions of those with jobs continue to seek longer hours or additional work. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday that the labor force expanded by about 822,000 year-on-year to 53.25 million in June from 52.42 million in the same month last year. Employment, however, rose only by 184,000 to 50.66 million from 50.47 million, indicating that job gains failed to keep pace with the increase in labor force participation. Ateneo de Manila University economist Leonardo A. Lanzona said this meant only about one in four additional labor force participants were absorbed into employment, while the other three in four were reflected in the roughly 639,000 increase in unemployment. He also noted that the same weakness was evident among the new entrants in June, many of whom were likely fresh graduates. PSA data showed that of the 650,000 Filipinos who entered the labor force for the first time,
592,000 were aged 15 to 24. Only 310,000 of these young entrants found work, while 282,000 remained unemployed. “The pattern isn’t a one-month blip—it’s a labor-absorption capacity problem that’s been building, and it validates the concern on the investment side: capital-intensive approvals generating headline figures without matching job-creation intensity mean the formal economy simply isn’t built to absorb entrants at the rate they’re arriving,” he told the BusinessMirror. On a year-on-year basis, the largest employment gains were recorded in accommodation and food service activities, which added 481,000 workers; administrative and support services, 456,000; public administration and defense, 440,000; education, 354,000; and arts, entertainment and recreation, 168,000.
WEATHERING EVERY PESO Unfazed by the rain, banana vendor Elsie Andol continues selling in Quezon City on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, as the Southwest Monsoon, enhanced by Tropical Storm Maymay (international name: Kujira), drenches Metro Manila. For many informal workers, staying home is not an option as households grapple with tighter budgets and the daily challenge of making ends meet. The resilience comes as the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that headline inflation eased to 6.2 percent in July from 6.4 percent in June, but prices remain elevated—particularly for food and other essential goods—keeping pressure on family incomes despite the slight slowdown. AP/AARON FAVILA
See “Entrants,” A2
RAZON NOW RICHEST PERSON IN PHL, SAYS FORBES ASIA June sees double-digit manufacturing growth THE BILLIONAIRE SHUFFLE
ORTS and gaming tycoon Enrique K. Razon Jr. is now the country’s richest person, according to Forbes Asia, which tallied fortunes using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals as well as stock exchanges, analysts and other sources. Razon, who was already the country’s second richest person last year, has bucked the trend of losing fortunes of local billionaires due to rising consumer prices and slowing economy. He took the number one spot for the first time from the Sy
siblings with a net worth of $21.8 billion, adding $10.3 billion to his coffers. Unfazed by geopolitical tensions, he accelerated the global expansion of his listed International Container Terminal Services Inc., which more than offset the lackluster performance of his gaming business. Forbes said the combined net wealth of tycoons on the 2026 Forbes list of the Philippines’s 50 Richest fell by 8 percent to $79 billion from $86 billion last year. In the first quarter of the year, the Philippine economy expanded 2.8 percent, its lowest See “Razon,” A2
The billionaire leaderboard has a new No. 1: Enrique Razon Jr. tops the 2026 Forbes Asia Philippines’ 50 Richest list as the Sy siblings slip to second and Manuel Villar drops to ninth
Rank Billionaire
Net Worth
1
Enrique K. Razon Jr.
$21.8B
2
Sy siblings
$9.2B
3
Ramon Ang
$3.5B
4
Lucio & Susan Co
$3.3B
Enrique K. Razon Jr.
5
Isidro Consunji & siblings
$3.0B
BIGGEST GAINERS AND LOSERS
6
Lucio Tan
$2.9B
T
New Philippine Richest →First time at No. 1 →$21.8B net worth →+$10.3B in one year →Driven by the expansion of ICTSI’s global port operations
BIGGEST DECLINES
WINNERS Billionaire
Change
7
Jaime Zobel de Ayala & family
$2.8B
Enrique Razon Jr.
▲ +$10.3B
8
Que Azcona
$2.5B
Robert Coyiuto Jr.
9
Manuel Villar
$2.4B
▲▲ Fortune more than doubled
10
Ty siblings
$2.3B
Billionaire
Change
Manuel Villar
▼ -$8.6B
Sy siblings
▼ -$2.6B
Isidro Consunji & siblings
▼ $3.7B → $3.0B
WHAT SHRANK BILLIONAIRE FORTUNES
Slower economic growth, surging inflation, a weaker peso, and the Iran-driven energy shock weighed on wealth.
BM Graphics: Ed Davad | Source: Forbes Asia
P
By VG Cabuag
HE country’s manufacturing output posted double-digit growth in June, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (Missi) showed that the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) expanded by 10.1 percent in June, faster than the revised 9.1-percent growth in May and the 2.3-percent increase recorded in June 2025. The PSA attributed the acceleration mainly to the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, whose output surged by 84.5 percent from 73.3 percent in the previous month. This was followed by the manufacture of food products, which grew by 3.9 percent from nearly flat growth of 0.02 percent, and
transport equipment, which rebounded by 4.9 percent from a 0.5 percent contraction in May. Of the 22 industry divisions, PSA said 15 recorded annual increases in production volume in June, while seven posted declines. Among those that registered contractions, the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, posted the steepest decline at 27.7 percent, deeper than the 22.8-percent contraction a month earlier. This was followed by machinery and equipment except electrical, which contracted by 18.7 percent, although slower than the 24.6 percent decline in May, and chemicals and chemical products, which fell by 18.3 percent from 23 percent. In terms of the Value of Production Index See “Growth,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 60.8530 n JAPAN 0.3859 n UK 81.9629 n HK 7.7583 n CHINA 9.0159 n SINGAPORE 47.5191 n AUSTRALIA 42.9196 n EU 70.3217 n KOREA 0.0428 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.2037 Source: BSP (August 6, 2026)