Developing Socioemotional Skills for the Philippines’ Labor Market

Over the past several decades, the Philippines has dramatically increased the average education level of its labor force. The country has made especially significant progress in expanding access to secondary and tertiary education. In 1950, more than half of the adult population had no formal education, and less than 5 percent had reached the tertiary level. By 2010, however, 35 percent of the population had completed primary education, 40 percent had completed secondary education, and about 20 percent had completed some tertiary education. In 2010, the literacy rate was estimated at about 98 percent.