NSCB Resolution No. 9
Series of 2009

APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE OFFICIAL METHODOLOGY
FOR GENERATING ANNUAL LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT ESTIMATES

WHEREAS, labor and employment statistics are significant indicators of the country’s socioeconomic status;

WHEREAS, per Executive Order No. 352 – Designation of Statistical Activities that will Generate Critical Data for Decision-making of the Government and the Private Sector, the National Statistics Office (NSO) is mandated to generate/release the country’s official employment statistics every quarter, through the conduct of the Labor Force Survey (LFS);

WHEREAS, there is a need for official annual labor and employment statistics, which are deemed useful for targeting and planning purposes such as monitoring of employment situation on an annual basis and regular submissions to international agencies like the International Labor Organization (ILO);

WHEREAS, in view of the need for a methodology/approach for generating annual labor and employment statistics, 10 consultative meetings were conducted: eight meetings of the Interagency Committee on Labor and Productivity Statistics (IACLPS) from 2005 to 2009; and two round table discussions (RTDs) in June 2008 and April 2009 with statisticians, economists, experts and stakeholders of labor and employment statistics;

WHEREAS, the following methodologies on estimating annual labor and employment estimates were reviewed and evaluated: (1) using the average of deseasonalized estimates of the four LFS rounds; (2) adopting the October LFS estimates of each year; (3) using ILO interpolation procedure; and (4) using the average estimates of the four LFS rounds;

WHEREAS, as a result of the consultation meetings and discussions, the IACLPS has identified the pros and cons of each methodology, as follows:

1. using the average of deseasonalized estimates of the four LFS rounds would entail extensive advocacy among users on the concept of deseasonalization aside from the difficulty in crosstabulating these estimates by characteristics (e.g., by class of worker, by industry, by occupation, etc.);
2. adopting the October LFS estimates of each year does not address the issue of seasonality and does not capture the labor and employment situation in the other three quarters of the year;
3. the ILO interpolation procedure is meant to generate only monthly estimates and the formula used allows influence of January estimates of the following year;
4. using the average estimates of the four LFS rounds is deemed as the most appropriate approach for generating annual labor and employment estimates for the following reasons: a)  it captures the labor and employment situation in all four quarters of the year;  b)  the generation of crosstabulations (e.g., by class of workers, by occupation group) is more feasible for producer of estimates;  c)  it is the closest method for estimating the number of persons who work four times for the entire year;  and  d)  these estimates are being used by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and its attached agencies and regional offices for planning/formulation of intervention programs;

WHEREAS, while two out of three participants in the 1st RTD preferred adopting the October LFS estimates, all four economists/statisticians, experts and stakeholders in the 2nd RTD recommended using average of LFS estimates of the four rounds;

WHEREAS, after thorough review and discussions, the IACLPS in its meeting on 19 May 2009, recommended the use of the average estimates of the four LFS rounds as the official methodology for generating annual labor and employment estimates; 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Board approve the methodology for generating annual labor and employment estimates as recommended by the IACLPS, for adoption by all concerned government agencies;
 
BE IT RESOLVED FURTHER, that the NSO be responsible for generating annual labor and employment estimates starting 2008 in accordance with the approved methodology and metadata (Annex BR-09-2009-01). 

Approved this 6th day of July 2009, in Pasig City.    

Attested by:

ROMULO A. VIROLA
Secretary General