One week after the May 12 elections and two days after the Commission on Elections proclaimed senators who won the elections, the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) calls on all newly-elected legislators and politicians to address the worsening jobs crisis and uphold workers’ rights.

The labor NGO cited data released by independent think-tank Ibon Foundation that shows that from March 2024 to March 2025, the total number of employed Filipinos decreased by 1.1 million from 49.2 million to 48 million even as the number of the unemployed decreased by a mere 69,000. Underemployed Filipinos also increased by 1 million and those excluded from the labor force increased by 2.4 million.

According to Ibon Foundation, all sectors of the economy registered a decrease in jobs: services by 364,000; agriculture, fishing and forestry by 471,000; manufacturing by 281,000; public utilities by 42,000; and mining and quarrying by 2,000. Out of the 48 million employed, around 38 million are self-employed and engaged in informal work.

These figures are alarming. Filipinos and their families are getting hungrier and poorer – and elected officials should act immediately. Employment figures usually increase shortly before elections. The present jobs crisis is so bad that even this increase failed to counter the downward trend. We have to remember that the jobs crisis is happening amidst the global cost of living crisis.

Widespread unemployment is bad news for labor rights. It emboldens employers to press down wages, expand contractual employment, prevent unionization and generally roll back workers’ rights. While workers will surely assert their rights, many will also become more pliant and desperate and accept poor working conditions.

The Philippine government should pay attention to alternatives being proposed by different sectors of society. It should study proactive state involvement in job creation, especially through industrialization, land reform and public welfare promotion. Existing policies have failed and are further showing their weaknesses amidst multiple crises.

Out of the 12 elected senators, five are associated with the Rodrigo Duterte regime, five are associated with the Ferdinand Marcos Jr regime, and two are oppositionists. In the House of Representatives, most elected congressmen and congresswomen come from political dynasties and are allied with the previous and present administrations, and the space for the marginalized sectors in the partylist system has further shrunk.

Despite some oppositionists’ good showing, most legislators are associated with governments with poor records in upholding labor and human rights. And while the Marcoses and the Dutertes will most likely continue their power struggles, they are basically united in upholding the same economic, labor and human rights policies. Workers need to unionize, form organizations and take action to uphold their labor and human rights.