ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY – Poverty incidence in Zamboanga Sibugay has sharply declined even as inflation continues to erode household purchasing power, according to the latest QuickSTAT released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Data show that poverty incidence among families fell to 17.8 percent in 2023, down from 26 percent in 2021 and 27.1 percent in 2018. This improvement comes despite a rising poverty threshold, which climbed to ₱26,557 per capita in 2023, reflecting higher costs of basic food and non-food needs.
On the labor front, Zamboanga Sibugay posted a 96.17 percent employment rate in 2025, steady from the previous year and higher than 2023’s 95.64 percent. The unemployment rate eased to 3.83 percent. But underemployment ticked up to 18.2 percent, suggesting that many workers remain in low-paying or unstable jobs.
Meanwhile, inflationary pressures are mounting.
The province’s inflation rate rose to 3.5 percent in January 2026, up from 3.2 percent in December 2025 and 3.0 percent a year earlier.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed to 131.6, while the purchasing power of the peso slipped to 0.76, meaning households can buy less with the same income.
The figures paint a mixed picture: while fewer families are living below the poverty line and jobs remain available, rising prices threaten to undermine these gains. For many Sibugaynons, the challenge is not just finding work, but ensuring that wages keep pace with the cost of living.
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