More than 60 percent of the population 15 years old and over are in the labor force

Of the estimated 73.5 million population 15 years old and over in October 2019, approximately 45.2 million persons were in the labor force, that is, either employed or unemployed (Table 1 and Table 3). This translates to a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 61.5 percent. Region X (Northern Mindanao) had the highest reported LFPR with 66.8 percent while the lowest LFPR reported was in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) at 53.4 percent (Table 1 and Figure 1).

Employment rate registers at 95.5 percent

The total number of employed persons in October 2019 was estimated at 43.1 million (Table 2). The reported employment rate or the proportion of employed persons to total labor force was 95.5 percent(Table 1).

Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) had the highest employment rate with 98.1 percent. Seven of the 17 regions  registered employment rates lower than the national figure of 95.5 percent. These regions are the following: Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) (93.4%),Region IV-A (CALABARZON) (94.2%),Region I (Ilocos Region) (94.8%),Region V (Bicol Region) (95.2%),Region III (Central Luzon) (95.3%),National Capital Region (NCR) and Region XIII (CARAGA) (95.4%).  (Table 1 and Figure 2).

More males are employed than females

More than sixty percent (61.3%) of the estimated 43.1 million employed persons in October 2019 were males. The largest number of the employed persons was in age group 25 to 34 years with 27.7 percent of the total employed. The 35 to 44 age group comprised the second largest group (23.0%), while the 45 to 54 age group made up the third largest group (18.7%). Employed females were reported at 38.7 percent of total employed persons (Table 3 and Figure 3).

More than half of employed persons are in the services sector

Employed persons in the services sector remained the highest group estimated at 57.7 percent of the total employed in October 2019. In October 2018, it was estimated at 56.8 percent.

The share of the industry sector to total employment posted a decrease of 0.2 percentage points, from a contribution of 19.1 percent in October 2018 to 18.9 percent in October 2019. In the agriculture sector, a combined share of agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing sub-sectors showed a 0.6 decrease, from 24.1 percentin October 2018 to 23.5 percent in October 2019. (Table 4 and Figure 4).

Among workers in the services sector, those engaged in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles made up the largest percentage with 19.8 percent of the total employed (Table 4).

More than one-fourth of employed persons are in elementary occupations

Across occupation groups, workers in elementary occupations made up the largest percentage of 26.0 percent of the 43.1 million total employed population. Service and sales workers were the second largest group of workers with 18.6 percent. Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers were the third largest group accounted at 12.0 percent (Table 5 and Figure 5).

Majority of employed persons are wage and salary workers 

Employed persons were categorized as 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 work for private households, private establishments, government and government-controlled corporations and those who work with pay in own family-operated farm or business. In October 2019, wage and salary workers registered at 64.2 percent. Those who worked in private establishments made up 50.8 percent and those working in government and government-controlled corporations were accounted for 9.2 percent of the total employed persons. (Table 6).

Classified according to broad industry group, 55.9 percent of unpaid family workers were in the agriculture sector. In contrast, sixty percent (60.8%) of wage and salary workers were in the services sector. More than half (54.0%) of those who were employer in own-family operated farm or business were in agriculture. Also, more than fifty percent (56.6%) of self-employed without any paid employee were in the services sector (Table 7 and Figure 6).

Majority of employed persons work full-time

Employed workers are classified as either full-time or part-time workers. Full-time workers are those who work for 40 hours or more while part-time workers work for less than 40 hours. Full-time workers comprised 68.7 percent of the total employed persons in October 2019. Those who worked for 40 to 48 hours made up a larger proportion of 48.2 percent, while those who worked more than 48 hours comprised 20.5 percent. Part-time workers comprised 30.5 percent of the total employed. In October 2019, part-time workers increased while full-time workers decreased in terms of numbers and percentages. Mean hours worked per week also decreased, from 42.8 in October 2018 to 41.8 in October 2019 (Table 8).       

Underemployment rate is registered at 13.0 percent

Underemployed persons were estimated at 5.6 million in October 2019. This number represented 13 percent of the total employed persons (Tables1 and 2). Underemployed persons are employed persons who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or have a new job with longer working hours.

Among the broad industry group, underemployed persons were highest in the services sector at 44.9 percent,37.8 percent in the agriculture sector and 17.3 percent in the industry sector (Table 9 and Figure 7).

Visibly underemployed, or those persons who had been working for less than 40 hours a week accounted for 60.5 percent, a large percentage (77.4%) of which were in the agriculture sector (Table 9).

Unemployment rate is recorded at 4.5 percent  

Of the total 45.2 million15 years old and over who are economically active, 2.1 million were unemployed which placed the country's unemployment rate to 4.5 percent (Tables 1 and 2).

The regions with unemployment rates higher than the national figure of 4.5 percent are as follows: Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) (6.6%),Region IV-A (CALABARZON) (5.8%), Region I (Ilocos Region) (5.2), Region V (Bicol Region) (4.8%), Region III (Central Luzon) (4.7%), National Capital Region (NCR) and Region XIII (Caraga) (4.6%) (Table 1 and Figure 8).

Unemployed persons were highest in age group 15 to 24 years at 46.1 percent. More males (61.4%) were unemployed than females (38.6%) (Table 3).

Across educational   groups, 37.0 percent of unemployed persons were either undergraduate or graduate of junior high school or the old curriculum, 37.8 percent reached college wherein 27.9 percent were graduates, 6.8 percent were elementary graduates, 3.6 percent were Senior High School graduates, and 4.4 percent were graduates of post secondary courses (Table 10).

Majority of persons not in the labor force are women

Thirty-eight percent of the 73.5 million population 15 years old and over in October 2019 were not in the labor force. These include housewives, students, persons with disability, and those who have retired from their employment. About seventy percent (67.3%) were women.

By age group, 44.2 percent of persons not in the labor force were in age group 15-24 years old. Among the 15-24 years old age group 80.3 percent are students or the reason why not in the labor force is due to schooling (Table 3 and Figure 9).

•  The labor force population in October 2019 was estimated at 45.2 million. This translates to a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 61.5 percent.
•  Total employed persons were approximately 43.1 million, resulting to a national employment rate of 95.5 percent.
•  More than half (57.7%) of the total employed were in the services sector, 23.5 percent were in the agriculture sector, and 18.9 percent were in the industry sector.
•  Workers in elementary occupations made up the largest proportion of employed persons as they comprised 26.0 percent of the total employed population.
• The total unemployed persons was 2.1 million which translates to an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent.
•  Underemployment rate was estimated at 13.0 percent.

(Sgd.) CLAIRE DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.

Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

TECHNICAL NOTES

The Labor Force Survey (LFS) is a nationwide quarterly survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) during the months of January, April, July, and October. For this release, the data being presented are based on the final results of the October 2019 round of the LFS.

The reference period used in the survey is the past seven (7) days preceding the date of interview of the enumerator.

The concepts and definitions used in the survey can be found in PSA Integrated Survey of Households (ISH) 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.

d. Underemployed – refers to employed persons who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or an additional job, or 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 old and 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.

TECHNICAL NOTES (concluded)

• Starting January 2012 LFS, the codes for industry adopted the 2009 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC).  Prior to this, codes for industry used the 1994 PSIC.

• Question on vocational course was introduced in the January 2012 Labor Force Survey (LFS) questionnaire.

• Starting April 2016 round, the LFS adopted the 2013 Master Sample Design, with a sample size of approximately 45,000 households.

• The 2012 Philippine Standard Occupational Classification (PSOC) was adopted starting April 2016. The 1992 PSOC had been used prior to April 2016.

• Starting with the April 2016 LFS round, the population projections based on the 2010 Census of Population and Housing (2010 CPH) was adopted to generate the labor force statistics.

• Overseas Filipino Workers are not considered part of the labor force in the Philippines. Hence, in the LFS, data on economic characteristics of household members who are overseas workers are not collected.  In LFS reports, they are excluded in the estimation of the size of working population, that is, population aged 15 years and older, and in the estimation of the labor force.