By HENRY EMPEÑO | March 4, 2026

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The services sector remains to be the dominant force here in the Subic Bay Freeport, registering a strong 67.70 percent presence among the 172,226 workers recorded as of January this year.

According to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the Subic workforce continued to grow in the last three years with a total of 156,811 in 2023, followed by 164,400 in 2024 for a 4.8 percent increase, and a 171,653 total, or a 4.4 increase, by the end of 2025.

Additional hirings of 573 in the first two months of this year brought the February workers’ total to 172,226.

A report from the SBMA Labor Department showed that as of February 2026, the services sector employs 114,883 workers across 4,125 companies operating in the Subic Freeport. Of these, 84,599 are male, while 30,284 are female.

The manufacturing sector employs the second largest number with a total of 37,823 workers, or 21.96 percent of the workforce; followed by the construction sector with 12,346, or 7.17 percent; and shipbuilding/maritime-related services sector with 7,174 workers, or 4.17 percent.

SBMA Labor Manager Melvin Varias clarified to BusinessMirror that a significant number of Subic workers are employed by accredited companies, which are not located in the free port but operate in the zone to provide specialized services, including freight forwarding, hazardous waste transport, heavy equipment rental, security, and manpower outsourcing.

Of the 4,736 business entities operating in Subic today, a total of 3,541 (74.77 percent) are accredited firms, while 1,195 are registered locators, SBMA data showed.

The latest SBMA report also indicated that Olongapo City remains the biggest source of manpower, with 70,583 residents working in the Freeport, or 40.98 percent of the total.

Zambales comes next with 32,571, or 18.91 percent; Bataan with 22,925 (13.31%); National Capital Region, 7,051 (4.095); Pampanga, 5,476 (3.18%); Tarlac, 2,191 (1.27%); and other parts of the country, including foreign workers, at 31,429 (18.25%).

Meanwhile, fully 70.42 percent of Subic workers, or a total of 121,276, are male, the SBMA Labor Department also reported.

The are concentrated mostly in the services sector with a total of 84,599; followed by 18,471 in manufacturing; 11,783 in construction; and 6,423 in shipbuilding and maritime-related sector.

The 50,950 female workers who compose 29.58 percent of the Subic workforce, meanwhile, are mostly in the services sector, too, holding a total of 30,284 jobs. Female workers, however, dominate the manufacturing sector with a total of 19,352. The others are in shipbuilding and maritime-related business, with a total of 751, and construction, with 563 workers.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño said that the Subic agency is pursuing an aggressive investment and job creation program under President Marcos’s personal instruction to provide more employment opportunities for residents in the Subic Bay area.

In 2024 alone, the SBMA brought in 159 new locators that generated 6,466 new jobs for the community.

Aliño said that more Subic companies are now hiring workers through the SBMA Labor Department’s regular job fairs, as well as online posting of job openings on the SBMA Career Portal.

He advised job seekers to browse the SBMA official website mysubicbay.com.ph for available employment with Subic Freeport locators and accredited companies. ▼

COVER PHOTO: Jobseekers line up for job application and interview during a job fair in the Subic Bay Freeport in this 2024 SBMA file photo.