CAGAYAN de Oro City — This city’s urban economy registered significant gains in job stability and employment quality in 2025, outperforming other Northern Mindanao localities in work satisfaction despite a slight reduction in its active labor pool.

According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the city's working-age population (aged 15 and over) reached approximately 544,000. Within this baseline, the top-line employment rate rose to 95.6% (up from 94.5% in late 2024), effectively cutting the unemployment rate from 5.5% down to 4.4%.

The Benchmark for Job Stability

The standout metric for the city lies in job quality. Cagayan de Oro recorded a sharp drop in underemployment, sliding from 7.5% in 2024 down to 5.5% in 2025.

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This low figure indicates that the vast majority of employed residents hold stable, full-time jobs that provide sufficient income, reducing the need for secondary, part-time work.

This stands in stark contrast to agricultural provinces like Bukidnon, which struggles with a massive 31.3% underemployment rate—meaning nearly one-third of its workforce is underemployed and seeking extra work to make ends meet.

However, the city noted a minor retraction in its Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR), which dipped from 63.7% to 62.5%, indicating a slight reduction in the proportion of the population actively seeking employment.

Within the broader macroeconomic framework of Northern Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro occupies a highly stable, premium tier, though it reveals clear structural differences when measured against its regional neighbors.

While the city's 95.6% employment rate sits just below the 96.3% regional average and trails Misamis Oriental’s leading 97.4%, its 4.4% unemployment rate—though higher than the regional benchmark of 3.7%—performs significantly better than Iligan City's regional high of 6.1%.

Furthermore, Cagayan de Oro's labor force participation rate stands at 62.5%; while this falls short of the 64.8% regional average and lags substantially behind Misamis Oriental’s robust 72.3%, it remains comfortably ahead of Iligan City’s regional low of 54.8%.

The Bottom Line

The latest data cements Cagayan de Oro's position as a premium regional economic anchor. While urban dynamics create a slightly higher baseline of job seekers (4.4%) than rural averages, the jobs available within the city offer superior hours, higher security, and much greater stability than those found in surrounding agricultural corridors.