DAVAO Region’s employment rose to an estimated 97.1%, equivalent to 2.47 million persons aged 15 years old and older, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) XI Labor Force Survey in 2025.
The region has the second-highest employment rate among the 18 administrative regions in the Philippines, and the second-lowest unemployment rate at 2.9% (73,000 unemployed persons), lower than 2024’s 3.2% (79-K unemployed persons).
By province, Davao del Sur holds the highest employment rate with 98.5%, while Davao City has the least, at 96.2%.
Underemployment rate dropped to 3.9% with 96-K underemployed individuals being the lowest recorded rate among other regions in 2025.
The labor force participation rate was recorded at 65.4%, totalling 2.55 million individuals in the labor force (employed and unemployed). Among the provinces, Davao del Sur tops the labor force participation rate at 69.9%, while Davao Oriental is below at 62.8%.
According to PSA XI OIC and regional director Baby Jean Alid, the service sector accounts for the largest share of employment in the region at 56.4%, followed by the agriculture sector at 28.0% and the industry sector at 15.5%.
The top sub-sectors with the largest increase in employment are agriculture and forestry, construction, and education. Meanwhile, other sub-sectors with the largest decrease in employed persons are transportation and storage, manufacturing, and accommodation and food service activities.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) XI regional director Atty. Randolf Pensoy said the agency continues to intensify employment facilitation services through regular job fairs, career coaching activities, labor market dissemination, and strengthening the Public Employment Service Offices (PESO).
Rosendo Aya-ay, chief economic development specialist of the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) XI, shared that the labor market in 2026 is expected to remain vulnerable to potential volatility due to geopolitical tensions, specifically the ongoing Middle East conflict, which triggered rising fuel and transport costs that may further dampen in generating employment.
