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Release Date :
Reference Number :
2015-004

Two-thirds of the population 15 years old and over are in the labor force

The population aged 15 years and over in July 2014 is estimated at 64.070 million. Out of this number, 41.231 million persons were in the labor force. These figures translate to a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 64.4 percent. Among the regions, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had the lowest LFPR with 54.2 percent. Other regions having an LFPR lower than the national figure are Western Visayas (64.3%), Central Luzon (62.2%), Bicol Region (62.0%) and Ilocos Region (61.2%) (Table 1A and Table 2A).

Employment rate is 93.3 percent

The employment rate in July 2014 is estimated at 93.3 percent. In comparison, the employment rate reported for the same month of 2013 was 92.7 percent.
 
Among the regions, the National Capital Region (NCR) had the lowest employment rate at 89.7 percent. Aside from NCR, three other regions, namely, Ilocos Region (92.2%), CALABARZON (92.0%) and Central Luzon (91.7%) had rates lower than the national figure (Table 1A).
 
 
 

Three in five of the employed population are males

Three in five (60.4%) of the employed population in July 2014 were males.
 
One in four (26.4%) of employed persons was in the age group 25 to 34 years. The 35 to 44 year age group comprised the second largest group, making up 22.9 percent of the total employed, followed by the 15 to 24 year age group with 19.0 percent (Table 3A).
 

More than half of the total employed persons are in the services sector

The number of employed persons in July 2014 was approximately 38.453 million; more than half (54.0%) of this  worked in the services sector. Three in every ten (30.1%) were in the agriculture sector and 15.9 percent were in the industry sector (Figure 4).
 
Classified according to subsector of major industry groups, workers in the agriculture, hunting and forestry subsector comprised the biggest percentage (26.6%) of the total employed. Those employed in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles, came next registering 18.8 percent of the total employed (Table 4A).
 
 

One-third of employed population are laborers and unskilled workers

Among the various occupation groups, laborers and unskilled workers comprised the largest proportion (31.6%) of the total employed population. Officials of the government and special-interest organizations, corporate executives, managers, managing proprietors and supervisors were the second largest group, accounting for 16.1 percent of the total employed population. Farmers, forestry workers and fishermen comprised the third largest group of workers, making up 13.6 percent of the total employed (Table 5A).

 

More than half of total employed persons are wage and salary workers

Employed persons fall into any of these four classes of workers: wage and salary workers, self-employed without any paid employee, employer in own family-operated farm or business and unpaid family workers. Wage and salary workers are those who worked for private households, private establishments, government and government-controlled corporations and those who work with pay in own family-operated farm or business. More than half (58.4%) of the employed persons in July 2014 were wage and salary workers, 28.0 percent were self-employed, 3.3 percent were employer in own family-operated farm or business and 10.4 percent were unpaid family workers. 
 
Among the wage and salary workers, those working for private establishments comprised the largest proportion (44.8% of the total employed). Government workers and those working for the government-controlled corporations comprised 7.9 percent of the total employed, while workers in private households, 5.3 percent (Table 6A).
 
 
 
Three in five (61.1%) of the wage and salary workers were in the services sector. In contrast, two-thirds (66.8%) of the unpaid family workers were in the agriculture sector (Table 7A and Figure 6).
 

Two-thirds of the employed persons work full-time

Employed persons are classified as either full-time or part-time workers. Full-time workers are those who work for 40 hours or more in a week, while part-time workers work for less than 40 hours. Of the total employed persons in July 2014, 62.7 percent were full-time workers while 36.2 percent were part-time workers. By comparison, in July 2013, full-time workers comprised 65.0 percent while part-time workers made up 34.3 percent (Table 8A).
 

One in every five employed workers wants more hours of work

Employed persons who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional new job with longer working hours are considered underemployed. The underemployment rate in July 2014 was estimated at 18.3 percent compared to last year’s estimate of 19.2 percent. Three in five (60.0%) of the total underemployed were reported as visibly underemployed or working less than 40 hours during the reference week. Those working for 40 hours or more made up 37.9 percent. By sector, about 41.5 percent of underemployed worked in the agriculture sector, while 41.2 percent were in the services sector. Those in the industry sector accounted for 17.3 percent (Table 9A and Figure 7).
 
Of the underemployed workers in the services sector, 51.6 percent were part-time workers. By comparison, 42.0 percent of the underemployed in the industry sector were working   part-time. As to be expected, the corresponding percentage in the agriculture sector was high at 75.8 percent (Table 9A).
 
 

Unemployment rate is 6.7 percent

The unemployment rate in July 2014 was estimated at 6.7 percent. Among regions, NCR continued to have the highest unemployment rate (10.3%). Aside from NCR, the other regions with unemployment rates higher than the national figure are Central Luzon (8.3%), CALABARZON (8.0%) and Ilocos Region (7.8%) (Table 1A).
 
Among the unemployed persons, 63.3 percent were males. Almost half (49.3%) of the unemployed persons belonged to the age group 15 to 24 years (Table 3A).
 
 
By educational attainment, about one-fifth (23.2%) of the unemployed were college graduates, 13.2 percent were college undergraduates, and 32.1 percent were high school graduates (Table 10A).

Seven in every ten persons who are not in the labor force are females

In July 2014, 35.6 percent of the population 15 years old and over were not in the labor force - this includes housewives, students, persons with disability, and retirees.
 
Seven in ten (69.7%) of those who were not in the labor force were females (Table 3A).
 
By age group, 46.1 percent of those who were not in the labor force were between 15 to 24 years old (Table 3A).
 

 

SUMMARY

Philippines

July 2014a/

(Excludes Leyte)

July 2013b/ (Excludes Leyte)

July 2013

(Includes Leyte)

Total 15 years old and over

64,070

63,180

64,470

Labor Force (in ‘000)

Labor Force Participation Rate (%)

41,231

64.4

40,351

63.9

41,178

63.9

Employed (in ’000)

Employment Rate (%)

38,453

93.3

37,390

92.7

38,175

92.7

Unemployment (in ‘000)

Unemployment Rate (%)

2,778

6.7

2,961

7.3

3,002

7.3

Underemployment (in ‘000)

Underemployment (%)

7,049

18.3

7,169

19.2

7,340

19.2

a/ The province of Leyte was not covered in July 2014 LFS.

b/ Estimates based on July 2013 data which excludes Leyte have been generated to make the July 2013 estimates comparable with July 2014 estimates.

 

 The number of persons in the labor force, or those who are either employed or unemployed was estimated at 41.231 million in July 2014, resulting to a labor force participation rate of 64.4 percent.
 
 The national employment rate was recorded at 93.3 percent in July this year.
  • More than half (54.0%) of the employed persons worked in the services sector, 30.1 percent in the agricultural sector and 15.9 percent in the industry sector.
  • One-third (31.6%) of the employed population were laborers and unskilled workers.
  • Wage and salary workers accounted for more than half (58.4%) of the total employed.
 Underemployment rate was estimated at 18.3 percent in July 2014.
  • Majority (60.0%) of the total underemployed were reported to have been working for less than 40 hours a week.
 The unemployment rate was estimated at 6.7 percent in July 2014.
  • The highest unemployment rate was recorded in the National Capital Region at 10.3 percent.
  • Unemployed college graduates accounted for 23.2 percent of the total unemployed
 

TECHNICAL NOTES

 
The Labor Force Survey (LFS) is a nationwide survey conducted quarterly by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). For this release, the data being presented are based on the final results of the July 2014 round of the LFS.
 
The reference period used in the survey is the seven days preceding the date of visit of the enumerator. 
 
The concepts and definitions used in the survey can be found in PSA Integrated Survey of Household Bulletins. Some are given below:
 
a. Labor Force – refers to the population 15 years old and over who contribute to the production of goods and services in the country. It comprises the employed and unemployed.
 
b. Employed – refers to persons in the labor force who are reported either as at work or with a job or business although not at work. Persons at work are those who did some work, even for an hour during the reference period.
 
c. Unemployed – refers to persons in the labor force who are reported as: 
1.   without work; and
2.   currently available for work; and
3.   seeking work or not seeking work due to the following reasons:
i. belief that no work is available or
ii. awaiting results of previous job application, or
iii. because of temporary illness or disability, or
iv. bad weather, or
v. waiting for rehire or job recall.
 
   The new definition of unemployed was adopted starting April 2005 per NSCB Resolution No. 15 dated October 20, 2004.2
 
d. Underemployed – refers to the employed persons who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or an additional job, or have a new job with longer working hours.
 
e. Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) – refers to the proportion of total labor force to the total household population 15 years or over.
 
f. Employment Rate – refers to the proportion of employed persons to the total labor force.
 
g. Unemployment rate – refers to the proportion of unemployed persons to the total labor force.
 
h. Underemployment Rate – refers to the proportion of underemployed persons to total employed persons.
 
 
 
In the July 2003 round, the LFS adopted the 2003 Master Sample Design, with a sample size of approximately 50,000 households.
 
The province of Basilan is included in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) while Isabela City (Basilan) is placed under Region IX in accordance with Executive Order No. 36.
 
Starting with the January 2007 LFS round, the population projections based on the 2000 Census of Population and Housing was adopted to generate the labor force statistics. The 2000 CPH-based population projections has been endorsed as the official figures to be utilized for planning and programming purposes per NSCB Resolution No. 7 Series of 2006, entitled “Adoption of the Methodology Used in Generating the 2000 Census of Population and Housing-Based National, Regional, and Provincial Population Projections”.
 
A revised nomenclature on class of worker was adopted since January 2010 LFS round. In the reports on previous rounds of LFS, particularly in the statistical tables on employed persons by class of worker, the self-employed and employer in own family-operated farm or business were classified as own-account workers. For the same statistical table in this report, the term “own-account worker” no longer appears as heading for employer and self-employed to avoid confusion. In the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE), the term “own-account workers” is synonymous to the category “self-employed”  in the Philippines LFS.
 
In January 2012, the LFS adopted the 2009 four-digit Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC) codes in classifying the industry. Prior to this, the 1994 PSIC was used. The 1992 four-digit Philippine Standard Occupational Classification (PSOC) code, updated in 2002, was utilized. Question on vocational course was included in the questionnaire during this round.
 
In the LFS, data on the economic characteristics of household members who are overseas workers are not collected because they are not considered as part of the labor force in the country. Hence, they are excluded in the estimation of the size of working population, that is, population aged 15 years and older.
 
The province of Leyte was not covered during the July 2014 round. A new sampling frame for the province of Leyte has to be created considering the large number of households in Leyte displayed by typhoon Yolanda. As a result, the old listing of households for Leyte used as sampling frame for the 2003 Master Sample is deemed no longer usable.
 
_________________________
 
1 In this report for purposes of comparing with the July 2014 results, the July 2013 labor and employment indicators were computed using the July 2013 data that excludes those for the province of Leyte.
 
2 The old definition of unemployed considered only two criteria
1. Without work and looking for work; or
2. Without work and not looking for work due to reasons cited in 3(1) to 3(v)

 

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