Philippine Child Labor Numbers Rose in 2025

Child laborers made up 59.1% of working children last year, unchanged from 2024 but down from 62% in 2023. As a share of all children in the age group, child laborers accounted for 1.8%, slightly higher than 2024's 1.6% but better than the 2.2% seen in 2023.

Boys continued to dominate the child labor count, with 373,650 or 72.7% of the total, versus 140,000 girls. The 15-to-17 age bracket accounted for 80.5% of all child laborers, up from 78.6% in 2024 and 74.4% in 2023, showing child labor is concentrated among older teenagers nearing working age.

By industry, agriculture employed the largest share of child laborers at 65.5%, followed by services at 25.8% and industry at 8.7%. Most working children logged short hours: 69.1% worked 20 hours or less per week, though that share dipped from 73.8% in 2024. Those working 21 to 40 hours a week rose to 18.4% from 15.2%.