PH child labor rate drops in 2022 due to aggressive state campaign

By Vito Barcelo

THE number of child laborers in the country has declined in 2022 thanks to the combined and intensified campaign of various government agencies, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

According to the Special Release on Working Children Situationpublished by the Philippine Statistics Authority on 25 July 2023, 828,000 children were engaged in child labor in 2022 representing

56 percent of the 1.48 million working children in the country.

This is significantly lower compared to the number of child laborers in 2021 at 935,000. While the number of working children in 2022 washigher than the 1.37 million working children in 2021, the percentage of child laborers decreased.

In a statement, the DOLE said “under existing laws, the minimum employable age in the country is 15. Hence, children 15 to below 18 years of age are legally allowed to work provided that they should be allowed to engage in child labor and their work should not interfere with their education.”

Child labor is classified as any work or economic activity performed by a child that subjects him/her to any form of exploitation or is harmful to his/her health and safety, physical, mental, or psychosocial development, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said.

“The decrease in the number of child laborers shows the continued