This Special Release on Information Technology – Business Process Management (IT-BPM) is based on the 2020 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) final results of selected industry sub-classes of Section J – Information and Communication and Section N – Administrative and Support Service Activities. IT-BPM services refer to provision of a bundled service package that combines information technology-intensive services with labour (manual or professional depending on the solution), machinery and facilities to support, host and manage a business process, such as financial transaction processing, credit card processing, payment services, such as benefits administration, payroll processing, personnel administration; supply chain management business processes, such as inventory management, procurement services, logistics services, production scheduling and order processing; customer relations management business processes, such as help desk, call center, customer service; vertical market business processes, conducted by specific industries such as electric, chemical, petroleum; and other business processes for client (Central Product Classification version 2.1 (CPC v2.1) United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD)).

Computer programming activities recorded the highest number of establishments

The Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI) final results showed that a total of 2,005 establishments in the formal sector of the economy were engaged in IT-BPM activities in 2020. This indicates a decrease of 6.9 percent from the 2,154 IT-BPM establishments recorded in 2019. (Figure 1, and Tables A and 1)

Among the industry sub-classes of IT-BPM, computer programming activities recorded the highest number of 532 establishments or 26.5 percent of the total establishments in 2020. This was followed by customer relationship management activities with 419 establishments (20.9%) and other information technology and computer service activities with 238 establishments (11.9%). (Figure 1 and Table 1)

Majority of the workers were employed in customer relationship management activities 

The IT-BPM industries employed a total of 766,536 workers in 2020, which indicates a decrease of 0.9 percent from the 773,776 workers reported in 2019. Of the total employment, 764,397 workers or 99.7 percent were paid employees, while the remaining were working owners and unpaid workers. (Tables A and 1) 

Among IT-BPM industries, customer relationship management activities employed the highest number of 474,391 workers or 61.9 percent of the total. Sales and marketing (including telemarketing) activities followed with 122,413 workers (16.0%), while computer programming activities ranked third with 44,818 workers (5.8%). (Figure 2 and Table 1)

The IT-BPM industries recorded an average number of 382 workers per establishment in 2020, which was 6.4 percent higher than the average number of 359 workers per establishment in 2019. (Tables A and 2)

Customer relationship management activities led with an average number of 1,132 workers per establishment. On the other hand, product development activities recorded the lowest with an average number of 16 workers per establishment. (Table 2)

Software publishing paid the highest average annual compensation

In 2020, the total compensation paid by the IT-BPM industries to its employees amounted to PhP 388.49 billion, which translates to an average annual compensation of PhP 508.23 thousand per paid employee. This indicates a decrease of 10.7 percent from the average annual pay of PhP 569.15 thousand per paid employee in 2019. (Tables A, 1, and 2)

By industry sub-class, software publishing paid the highest average annual compensation of PhP 1.46 million per paid employee. This was followed by administrative support activities, and finance and accounting activities with PhP 918.70 thousand and PhP 862.67 thousand per paid employee, respectively. (Figure 3 and Table 2)

Customer relationship management activities contributed the highest share to the total revenue and total expense

The total revenue generated by IT-BPM industries amounted to PhP 739.21 billion in 2020, which indicates a decline of 12.9 percent from the reported total revenue of PhP 848.24 billion in 2019. Moreover, IT-BPM industries incurred a total expense of PhP 645.26 billion in 2020, which indicates a decrement of 12.2 percent from the recorded total expense of 734.91 billion in 2019. (Figure 4, and Tables A and 1)

More than half of the shares to total revenue and total expense were contributed by customer relationship management activities with PhP 404.14 billion revenue or 54.7 percent of the total revenue and PhP 352.43 billion expense or 54.6 percent of the total expense. (Figure 4 and Table 1)

In 2020, IT-BPM industries generated a revenue per peso expense ratio of 1.15, which is the same as the revenue per expense ratio recorded in 2019. This means that for every peso spent, a corresponding revenue of PhP 1.15 was generated. (Tables A and 2)

Among industry sub-classes, software publishing recorded the highest revenue per peso expense ratio of 2.14. Data processing and website hosting services followed with revenue per peso expense ratios of 2.01 and 1.26, respectively. (Table 2)

Government granted PhP 2.02 billion subsidies

Subsidies are special grants in the form of financial assistance or tax exemption or tax privilege given by the government to aid and develop an industry. The government granted PhP 2.02 billion subsidies in 2020, which was 241.7 percent higher than the PhP 591.99 million subsidies received by this industry in 2019. (Tables A and 1)

Among industry sub-classes, finance and accounting activities received the highest subsidies of PhP 1.05 billion or 51.7 percent of the total. This was followed by customer relationship management activities with PhP 460.74 million (22.8%), and sales and marketing (including telemarketing) activities with PhP 358.92 million (17.7%). (Table 1)

United States of America (USA) contributed the most to the total revenue from transactions outside the country

In 2020, IT-BPM industries earned a revenue of PhP 192.85 billion from transactions outside the country, which is equivalent to 26.1 percent of the industry’s total revenue in 2020. This indicates a decrease of 15.5 percent from the PhP 228.14 billion revenue generated from transactions outside the country in 2019. (Tables A and 1)

Among countries, United States of America recorded the highest share to the total revenue from transactions outside the country amounting to PhP 118.91 billion or 61.7 percent of the total revenue from transactions outside the country. (Figure 5, and Tables A and 3)

By industry, customer relationship management activities registered the highest revenue from transactions outside the country amounting to PhP 107.56 billion (55.8%). This was followed by sales and marketing (including telemarketing) activities, and computer programming activities with PhP 29.98 billion (15.5%) and PhP 16.65 billion (8.6%), respectively. (Figure 6 and Table 3)

DIVINA GRACIA L. DEL PRADO, PhD      
Assistant Secretary     
Deputy National Statistician     
Sectoral Statistics Office

TECHNICAL NOTES     
2020 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry

I.    Introduction

I.1. Background of the Survey

The Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI), one of the designated statistical activities of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), generates essential statistics for economic planning and analysis. It is specifically designed to collect and generate information on the levels, structure, performance, and trends of economic activities of the formal sector of the country’s economy.

The 2020 ASPBI is the 48th in the series of annual surveys of establishments in the country. It was conducted nationwide in April 2021 with 2020 as reference period. In this round of the ASPBI, the 2020 Survey of Tourism Establishments in the Philippines (STEP) is a rider to this survey.

The conduct of the 2020 ASPBI is authorized under Republic Act No. 10625, known as the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013, which mandates the PSA to collect, compile, analyze, and publish statistical information relating to the country’s economic condition.

I.2. Objectives

The 2020 ASPBI aims to collect and generate information on the levels, structure, performance, and trends of economic activities of the formal sector of the economy for the year 2020.

Specifically, the 2020 ASPBI aims to:

1. collect and generate detailed information on employment, revenue, expense, inventories, tangible fixed assets, intangible assets, and total assets of the establishments;     
2. generate estimates for other economic indicators such as value added, average compensation, and other indicators which are necessary to evaluate the performance of industries at the national and regional levels;     
3. generate statistics for micro, small, and medium establishments (MSME) where identification of MSME is based on total employment; and     
4. gather pertinent information for the updating of the sampling frame of establishment-based surveys.

I.3. Historical Information on the Survey

Annual surveys are usually conducted a year after the reference year. Except for the survey conducted in 2002, the year in the survey title refers to the reference year.

The following are the annual surveys conducted:

1. 1956 Annual Survey of Manufactures (ASM) – First annual survey of establishments undertaken since the Bureau of Census and Statistics (BCS) was established in 1940. It was conducted jointly by the National Economic Council (now the National Economic and Development Authority or NEDA) and the BCS with technical assistance provided by the International Cooperation Administration (ICA) of the United States (US). The ICA is the predecessor of the now US Agency for International Development (USAID).     
2. 1957 ASM – This was also conducted jointly by NEDA and BCS.     
3. 1958 ASM – This survey was integrated as a regular activity of the BCS.     
4. 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, and 1966 ASM – Annual Surveys of Manufactures were conducted for these years.     
5. 1965 Annual Survey of Wholesale and Retail Trade (ASWRT) was conducted for the City of Manila only. The 1966 ASWRT was expanded to cover both the City of Manila and suburbs, but there were no available publications.     
6. 1968 and 1969 – The ASM and the ASWRT were conducted.             
7. The 1968 ASWRT was the start of the annual series for wholesale and retail trade at the national level.     
8. 1970 and 1971 Annual Survey of Establishments (ASE) – The scope of the annual survey was expanded to include the business, utilities, and services sectors, aside from manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade.     
9. 1973 and 1974 ASE – The coverage of the 1971 ASE was expanded to include Mining and Quarrying; Construction; and Transportation, Communication and Storage; Electricity, Gas, and Water; Financing; Insurance; Real Estate and Business Services were included for the first time in the 1974 ASE.     
10. 1976 ASE – The annual survey was conducted for all sectors, which was also the start of the Annual Surveys of Agriculture, Forestry and Hunting, and Fishing.     
11. 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985,1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1995 – Annual surveys for all sectors were conducted for these years.     
12. 1996 and 1997 ASE – Only one survey was conducted for all sectors to collect data for two years, 1996 and 1997.     
13. 1998 ASE – Annual survey was conducted for all sectors.     
14. 2000 – No annual survey was conducted for this reference year.     
15. 2001 – The title of the survey for this reference year was renamed as 2002 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI). This was based on NSCB Resolution No.3 Series of 2000 which approved the change in the title of Census of Establishments to 2000 Census of Philippine Business and Industry (CPBI) and changed the title to the year when the census was undertaken. Thus, the title of the ASE was changed accordingly to ASPBI.     
16. 2002 – No annual survey was undertaken for this reference year.     
17. 2003 ASPBI – Starting with the 2003 ASPBI, the year in the survey title referred again to the reference year. The survey was conducted in 2004.     
18. 2004 – No annual survey was undertaken for this reference year.     
19. 2005 ASPBI – An annual survey was conducted in 2006 instead of the originally planned 2005 Census of Philippine Business and Industry.     
20. 2007 and 2011 – No annual survey was undertaken for these reference years.     
21. 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019 ASPBI – The surveys were conducted for these reference years.

An economic census of establishments was undertaken for reference years 1903, 1918, 1939, 1948, 1961, 1967, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2006, 2012, and 2018. Except for 1999, the title of the census refers to the year the census was conducted. For these years, no annual surveys were undertaken.

I.4. Scope and Coverage

The 2020 ASPBI covered establishments engaged in 18 sections classified according to the 2009 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC), namely:

1. Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (A)     
2. Mining and Quarrying (B)     
3. Manufacturing (C)     
4. Electricity, Gas, Steam, and Air Conditioning Supply (D)     
5. Water Supply; Sewerage, Waste Management, and Remediation Activities (E)     
6. Construction (F)     
7. Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles (G)     
8. Transportation and Storage (H)     
9. Accommodation and Food Service Activities (I)     
10. Information and Communication (J)     
11. Financial and Insurance Activities (K)     
12. Real Estate Activities (L)     
13. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Activities (M)     
14. Administrative and Support Service Activities (N)     
15. Education (P)     
16. Human Health and Social Work Activities (Q)     
17. Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (R)     
18. Other Service Activities (S)

The survey was confined to the formal sector of the economy, which consists of the following:

1. Corporations and partnership, regardless of employment size;     
2. Cooperatives and foundations, regardless of employment size;     
3. Single proprietorships with branches, regardless of employment size; and     
4. Single proprietorship with no branches but with total employment (TE) of 10 and over.

Hence, the 2020 ASPBI covered all establishments regardless of employment size, except those establishments with:

1. Legal Organization of single proprietorship (LO=1),     
2. Economic Organization of single establishment (EO=1), and     
3. TE of less than 10.

II.    Data Collection and Processing

II.1. Data Collection

The survey was conducted nationwide in 2021 with 2020 as the reference period, except for employment where the reference period is as of 15 November 2020.

Distribution and collection of 2020 ASPBI questionnaires were done according to a timetable set. Distribution was done in April 2021 through personal visits by PSA field staff to the sample establishments located in the provinces and cities nationwide. The collection of accomplished questionnaires started one week after distribution.

II.2. Survey Instruments

The 2020 ASPBI utilized seven forms of questionnaires which captured data of sample establishments engaged in the 18 sections of the economy as defined in the 2009 PSIC. The seven forms of questionnaires are presented in the table below:

Each form of the survey questionnaire is available in three options. These are the following:

1. online questionnaire which can be accessed at https://aspbi.psa.gov.ph;     
2. electronic copy of the questionnaire, either in portable document format (.pdf) or Excel (.xlsx) file format; and     
3. printed copy of the self-administered questionnaire.

The sample establishment can choose from these options in recording the information for the data items in the survey questionnaire.

II.3. Data Items

The survey collected data on employment, revenue, expense, sales from e-commerce transactions, capital expenditure, book value of fixed tangible and intangible assets, average capacity utilization rate, and inventory.

II.4. Data Processing

To ensure quality of survey reports, several levels of validation following guidelines set were done during the processing phase of the survey operation.

Computer systems were also developed and used to facilitate the smooth conduct and monitoring of the survey operation. These were the Monitoring and Tracking System (MTS) and the Establishment Data Management System (EDMS) which are online systems. The MTS was used to monitor the real-time progress of the survey operation, which included distribution, collection, transmittal, manual processing, and data processing of questionnaires, among others. On the other hand, the EDMS was used in the processing of data and tabulation of survey results.

III.    Methodology

III.1. Sampling Frame

The sampling frame for the 2020 ASPBI was extracted from the preliminary 2020 List of Establishments (LE) updated as of 06 January 2021. This frame was used to draw the sample establishments for the survey. The preliminary 2020 LE showed that there were  1,000,440 establishments that were in operation in the country of which 336,205 establishments comprised the sampling frame or the establishments that are within the scope and coverage of the 2020 ASPBI.

III.2. Sample Selection Procedure

The 2020 ASPBI uses a stratified systematic sampling design with 3-digit or 5-digit PSIC as the first stratification variable, depending on the section and total employment, which is classified into Micro, Small, Medium establishments (MSME), as the second stratification variable.

Stratified systematic sampling is a process of dividing the population into homogeneous groups, called strata, and then selecting independent samples in each stratum systematically. This method ensures that all important subgroups of the population are represented in the sample and increases the precision of “overall” survey estimates.

Domain

The geographic domain of the 2020 ASPBI is the region. The industry domain/stratum is a 3-digit or 5-digit industry classification, and the employment domain/stratum is the MSME classification.

Unit of Enumeration

The unit of enumeration for the 2020 ASPBI is the establishment.

III.3. Estimation Procedure

III.3.1. Weights Computation

Base Weight

The base weight is the inverse of the probability of selection.  For the ASPBI, the base weight for each domain is given by:

Adjustment Factor     

To take into account the non-responding sample establishments, the adjustment factor by region and industry section is as follows:

Final Weight

The final weight is the product of the base weight and adjustment factor.  That is,

III.3.2. Estimation of Total

Total by Industry-Employment Stratum (h)

The estimator for the total of a characteristic in each industry-employment stratum (h) in a region (geographic domain) is given by:

Total by Industry Stratum per Region

The estimator for the total of a characteristic in each industry stratum in a region is given by:

Total by Employment Stratum per Region

The estimator for the total of a characteristic in each employment stratum for the regional domain is given by:

Total by Geographic Domain

The estimator for the total of a characteristic in each geographic domain is given by:

Total by Industry Stratum (National)

The estimator for the national total of a characteristic in each industry domain/stratum is given by:

Total by Employment Stratum (National)

The estimator for the national total of a characteristic in each employment domain/stratum is given by:

National Total

The estimator for the national total of a characteristic is given by:

III.4. Response Rate

Response rate for all Information Technology - Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industries was 85.4 percent (1,890 out of 2,214 establishments). This included receipts of "good" questionnaires, partially accomplished questionnaires, and reports of closed, moved out, or out-of-scope establishments.     

Of the total responses, 160 establishments or 8.5 percent responded online.

Reports of establishments which were found to be duplicate of another establishment, out-of-scope and out of business in 2020 were not included in the generation of statistical tables.

IV.    Concepts and Definitions of Terms

Business Process Management (BPM) is the leveraging of technology or specialist process vendors to provide and manage an organization’s critical and/or non-critical enterprise processes and applications.

Call centers activities (voice) includes inbound call centers, answering calls from clients by using human operators, automatic call distribution, computer telephone integration, interactive voice response systems or similar methods to receive orders, provide product information, deal with customer request for assistance or address customer complaints; outbound call centers using similar methods to sell or market goods or services to potential customers, and undertake market research or public opinion polling and similar activities for clients.

Compensation is the sum of salaries and wages, separation/retirement/ terminal pay, gratuities, and payments made by the employer on behalf  of the employees such as contribution to SSS/GSIS, ECC, PhilHealth, Pag-ibig, etc.

Computer and related activities establishment refers to office or firm engaged in hardware consultancy, software publishing, software development, data processing, database activities and on-line distribution of electronic content, maintenance and repair of office, accounting and computing machinery, and others.

Computer consultancy and computer facilities management activities includes planning and designing of computer systems that integrate computer hardware, software, and communication technologies.

Computer programming activities includes the activities of writing, modifying, testing, and supporting software, designing the structure and content of, and/or writing the computer code necessary to create and implement: systems software (including updates and patches), software applications (including updates and patches), databases, web pages; customizing of software, i.e., modifying and configuring an existing application so that it is functional within the client's information system environment.

Data processing includes complete processing of data supplied by the customer, data entry services, scanning of documents, time share computer services, etc.

Economic activity or business is the activity of the establishment as classified under the 2009 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC). The main activity refers to the activity that contributes the biggest or major portion of the gross income or revenue of the establishment.

Establishment is an economic unit under a single ownership and control, i. e. under a single entity, engaged in one or predominantly one kind of economic activity at a single fixed location.

Expense are cost incurred by the establishment during the year whether paid or payable. This is treated on a consumed basis. Valuation is at purchaser price including taxes and other charges, net of rebates, returns and allowances. Goods and services received by the establishment from other establishments of the same enterprise are valued as though purchased.

Miscellaneous business activities establishment refers to office or firm engaged in legal, accounting, bookkeeping and auditing; tax consultancy; market research and public opinion polling; business and management consultancy; architectural and engineering activities; land surveying services; technical and testing analysis; advertising; labor recruitment and provision of personnel; investigation and security services; cleaning of buildings of all types; pest control services; industrial cleaning activities; photographic activities; packaging activities; management  and administrative services; bill collecting and credit rating services; business brokerage; stenographic, duplicating and mailing activities; fashion design; interior decoration services; call center activities; medical transcription and others.

Motion picture, video and television programme activities and post-production activities includes production of theatrical  and non-theatrical motion pictures whether on film, video tape, DVD or other media, including digital distribution, for direct projection in theatres or for broadcasting on television; supporting activities such as film editing, cutting, dubbing etc.; distribution of motion pictures or other film productions (video tapes, DVD's etc.) to other industries; as well as their projection. Buying and selling of motion picture or any other film production distribution rights is also included. It also includes production of motion pictures, videos, television programmes or television commercials. Post production activities such as: editing, film/tape transfers, titling, subtitling, credits closed captioning, computer-produced graphics, animation, and special effects film/tape transfers. Activities of motion pictures film laboratories and activities of special laboratories for animated films: developing and processing motion picture film, activities of motion picture film, reproduction of motion picture film for theatrical distribution. 

Offshore outsourcing is the practice of hiring an external organization to perform some or all business functions in a country other than the one where the product or service will be sold or consumed.

Outsourcing (or contracting out) is the delegation of non-core operations or jobs from internal production within a business to an external entity (such as a subcontractor) that specializes in that operation. Outsourcing is done to save money, improve quality, or free company resources for other activities. Outsourcing was first done in the data-processing industry and has spread to areas, including telemessaging and call centers.

Paid employees are all persons working in the establishment and receiving pay, as well as those working away from the establishment paid by and under the control of the establishment. Included are all employees on sick leave, paid vacation or holiday. Excluded are consultants, home workers, receiving pure commissions only,  and workers on indefinite leave.

Revenue are cash received and receivables for goods/products and by-products sold and services rendered. Valuation is at producer prices (ex-establishment) net of discounts and allowances, including duties and taxes but excluding subsidies.

Salaries and wages are payments in cash or in kind to all employees, prior to deductions for employee’s contributions to SSS/GSIS, withholding tax, etc. Included are total basic pay, overtime pay and other benefits.

Software publishing includes publishing of ready-made (non-customized) software: operating systems, business and other applications, computer games for all platforms.

Subsidies are special grants in the form of financial assistance or tax exemption or tax privilege given by the government to aid and develop  an industry.

V.    Dissemination of Results and Revision

The results of the 2020 ASPBI are disseminated through the posting of Special Releases and electronic publications on the PSA website, and final statistical tables in OpenStat. The updating or revisions on data were done upon finalizing the results of the 2020 ASPBI data.

This Special Release presents the results of the 2020 ASPBI for Information Technology - Business Process Management (IT-BPM) industries. IT-BPM is composed of selected industries of Information and Communication (Section J) and Administrative and Support Service Activities (Section N). Data are presented by industry sub-class or 5-digit classification as classified under the 2009 PSIC. 

Below is the list of IT-BPM industries.

VI.    Citation

Philippine Statistics Authority. (October 2023). Technical Notes on the 2020 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (ASPBI). https://psa.gov.ph/technical-notes/2020aspbi

VII.    Contact Information

Soraya C. de Guzman     
Chief Statistical Specialist     
Services Statistics Division     
(632) 8376-2090     
ssd.esss.staff@psa.gov.ph

For data request, you may contact the:      
Knowledge Management and Communications Division     
(632) 8462-6600 local 839     
info@psa.gov.ph