The number of working children in the Philippines increased in 2025, according to preliminary results released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), although the number of children engaged in hazardous child labor remained lower than levels recorded in 2023.
The PSA estimated that 868,540 children aged 5 to 17 were working in 2025, an increase from 861,450 in 2024. These working children accounted for 3.1 percent of the country’s estimated 28 million children within the same age group.
Boys comprised the majority of working children, accounting for 61.6 percent, while girls made up 38.4 percent. Most working children, or 73.5 percent, belonged to the 15 to 17 age group, followed by children aged 10 to 14 at 22.8 percent, and those aged 5 to 9 at 3.7 percent.
By industry, the services sector employed the largest share of working children at 48.7 percent, followed by agriculture with 41.2 percent, and the industry sector with 10.1 percent.
The report also showed that 69.1 percent of working children rendered 20 hours or less of work per week, while the remaining 30.9 percent worked for more than 20 hours weekly.
Meanwhile, the number of children engaged in child labor reached 513,650 in 2025, slightly higher than the 509,160 recorded in 2024 but significantly lower than the 678,360 reported in 2023.
Among children engaged in child labor, 72.7 percent were boys, while 80.5 percent were between 15 and 17 years old. The agriculture sector accounted for the largest share at 65.5 percent, followed by the services sector at 25.8 percent, and the industry sector at 8.7 percent.
The PSA said the findings were based on the 2025 Working Children Situation (Preliminary Results), which provides updated data on the employment and labor conditions of Filipino children aged 5 to 17 across the country.
