IBON Foundation believes the Philippine economy is now sliding into stagflation because of rapid inflation, worsening unemployment, and the slowdown of local production. This means even more suffering for millions of poor Filipinos, and the collapse of the livelihoods of those who were already on the edge of poverty.

According to PSA data, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 2.8% in the first quarter of 2026. Family consumption, which makes up 73% of total demand in the economy, weakened because of slave-like wages and the surge in prices, which reached 72% in April. Productive sectors continue to weaken. Manufacturing lost 217,000 jobs in just one month. The fishing sector also lost 420,000 jobs because of the high price of diesel.

Inflation concurrently tripled in just two months, from 2.2% in February to 7.2% in April. Costs for food, transport, electricity, and other essential needs rose even further.

This situation was compounded by the loss of 357,000 jobs between February and March 2026 alone. According to IBON, the economy has long lacked the capacity to create enough decent, stable, and productive jobs. Over the past year, unemployment rose from 1.9 million to 2.6 million.

The employment crisis is apparent in the growth of the informal workforce. Although the government reported the addition of one million jobs, nearly 74% of the total Filipino workforce, or about 36.3 million people, are engaged in informal work. This includes the rise in self-employed and unpaid family workers, who make up 41% of total employment. The irregular income from these jobs is not enough to keep up with families’ rising expenses.