ORGANIZED labor has expressed concern that the country's employment and underemployment rates will be further aggravated by the war in the Middle East unless the government takes immediate decisive action to bolster job opportunities. The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the largest national trade union group in the country, said that based on the latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), unemployment rate rose to 5.4 percent in January 2026, equivalent to 2.96 million Filipinos without jobs, up from 4.4 percent or 2.26 million in December 2025. Meanwhile, underemployment surged to 13.2 percent or 6.35 million workers in January, a steep rise from 8 percent or 3.93 million in December. “The sudden rise in unemployment and underemployment reflects not only the end of holiday seasonal jobs, but the deeper vulnerabilities of our labor market that will be further aggravated by the conflict in the Middle East which threatens the lives and livelihoods of Filipinos both at home and abroad," the group said in a statement. It stressed that beyond bringing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) away from danger, the government must ensure that repatriated OFWs can rebuild their lives with dignity through real opportunities for decent work. Earlier, Economic Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan acknowledged the risks confronting the OFWs in the Middle East. “Given elevated geopolitical tensions and global uncertainties, strategic policies are needed to bolster labor market resilience. The government continues to pursue a comprehensive response to support affected workers in the short term while fostering a dynamic and robust labor market in the medium and long term,” Balisacan said. “Our priority is clear: create more and better jobs at home, strengthen industries, equip our workers with the skills needed for higher-value employment, and ensure that those affected by global disruptions, including OFWs, can transition smoothly into productive opportunities here in the Philippines,” he added. TUCP said that workers deserve far more decisive strategic policies than temporary excise tax suspension and fuel subsidies. What the country urgently needs are bolder structural reforms to raise wages, reduce taxes, and reintegrate returning OFWs, it said. "We cannot speak of labor market resilience when, in the span of just one month, hundreds of thousands more Filipinos have lost their jobs and more than two million more have become underemployed while thousands of our kababayan in the Middle East are now seeking repatriation amid escalating tensions,” TUCP said. The group urged the government to immediately implement a comprehensive reintegration program, such as skills inventory and profiling of returning OFWs, job-matching programs with domestic industries and employers, upskilling and re-skilling initiatives, including in emerging sectors, and enterprise and livelihood support, among others. “Our priorities must be clearer and more concrete: remove the burdensome VAT on electricity to lower power costs, attract investors, strengthen industries, and generate employment, as well as raise wages so that Filipino workers no longer need to work two or three jobs just to survive. With the right policies and stronger political will, we can transform this moment of crisis into an opportunity to rebuild a stronger economy that creates decent work and ensure that every Filipino working family lives with dignity,” the group said.