More than three out of five persons 15 years old and over in the MIMAROPA Region were part of the labor force

In January 2025, about 64.6 percent of the estimated 2.15 million total population 15 years old and over in the MIMAROPA Region were part of the labor force. The  labor force participation rate (LFPR) of the working-age population in this region increased by 0.5 percentage point, from the previous estimate of 64.1 percent LFPR in January 2024. (Figure 1)
 

The LFPR of the MIMAROPA Region is 0.7 percentage points higher than the national estimate (63.9%) in January 2025.  Moreover, the region ranked fifth among other regions in the country with BARMM posting the highest LFPR (72.5%) and Region V registering the lowest LFPR (59.1%). (Figure 1)

Nearly 24 in every 25 persons in the labor force in the MIMAROPA Region were employed

MIMAROPA Region’s employment rate was recorded at 95.6 percent in January 2025. This estimate is 0.1 percentage point higher than that of the previous year at 95.5 percent. The region’s employment rate in January 2025 was 0.1 percentage point lower than the national estimate at 95.7 percent and ranked fifth place among all regions with the lowest employment rate. (Figure 2) 
 

Furthermore, among all regions in the country, Region IX recorded the highest employment rate in January 2025 (97.7%), an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the estimated rate in January 2024. On the other hand, Region V recorded the lowest employment rate in January 2025 (93.5%) which was down by 0.7 percentage points from 94.2 percent employment rate in the same month of the previous year. (Figure 2)

 
Unemployment rate of MIMAROPA decreased by 0.1 percentage point

The unemployment rate in the MIMAROPA Region went down by 0.1 percentage point, that is, from 4.5 percent in January 2024 to 4.4 percent in January 2025. This was 0.1 percentage point higher than that of the national estimate of 4.3 percent, and was ranked fifth among all regions in the country with the highest unemployment rate. (Figure 3) 
 

Among all regions in the country, Region V recorded the highest unemployment rate in January 2025 (6.5%) and January 2024 (5.8%). On the other hand, Region IX recorded the lowest unemployment rate in January 2025 (2.3%), while BARMM trailed in January 2024 with unemployment rate of 2.9 percent. (Figure 3)

Underemployment rate in the MIMAROPA Region reached 25.0 percent

The region’s underemployment rate increased by 5.9 percentage points from 19.1 percent in January 2024 to 25.0 percent in January 2025. This translates to about one in every four employed MIMAROPAns desired to have an additional job, to gain additional hours of work in their current job, or to look for a new job with longer working hours. MIMAROPA Region’s underemployment rate was 11.7 percentage points higher than that of the national estimate of 13.7 percent. Moreover, the region is ranked third among those regions with the highest underemployment rate (Figure 4) 

Among regions in the country, Region XII recorded the highest underemployment rate in January 2025 (29.5%) and in January 2024 (26.7%). On the other hand, Region XI recorded the lowest underemployment rate in January 2025 (3.3%) while NCR trailed in January 2024 (8.1%). (Figure 4)

(SGD) LENI R. RIOFLORIDO
Regional Director

MLLM / OHG / RRL / CBDT