Date Released: March 1, 2012
Employment Situation
in JULY 2011
(Final Results)
Two-thirds of the population 15 years and over are in the labor force
The July 2011 LFS registered a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of
64.3 percent. The size of the labor force in July 2011 was
approximately 39.9 million out of the estimated 62.1 million
population 15 years old and over. The LFPR was highest in
MIMAROPA at 69.8 percent and lowest in Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) at 54.1 percent.
Employment rate is 92.9 percent
The employment rate estimated for July 2011 was 92.9 percent which is not significantly
different from the July 2010 rate of 93.0 percent. This implies that nine in every 10
persons in the labor force were employed.
The National Capital Region (NCR) recorded the lowest employment rate at 89.1 percent.
Other regions with employment rates lower than the national value were Ilocos Region
(92.1%), Central Luzon (90.4%) and CALABARZON (89.6%). Meanwhile, the regions with
employment rate higher than 95 percent were Cagayan Valley (97.6%), Zamboanga
Peninsula (96.7%), ARMM (96.3%), MIMAROPA (96.2%) and SOCCSKSARGEN with 95.5
percent.
Three in five of the employed population are males
Three in five (60.6%) of
the employed population
in July 2011 were males.
One in four (26.6%) 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 23.1 percent
of the total employed,
followed by the 15 to 24
age group with 18.6
percent.
More than half of the total employed are in the services sector
The estimated number of employed in July 2011 was 37.1 million. More than half (52.2%) of this number worked in the services sector with those employed in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods, comprising the largest sub-sector (19.7% of the total employed). Workers in agriculture sector accounted for 32.6 percent of the total employed, with workers in the agriculture, hunting and forestry making up the largest sub-sector (28.7% of the total employed). Only 15.2 percent of the total employed were in the industry sector.
One-third of employed population are laborers and unskilled workers
Among the various occupation groups, laborers and unskilled workers comprised the largest proportion (32.6%) of the total employed population. Farmers, forestry workers and fishermen were the second largest group, accounting for 15.2 percent of the total employed population.
More than half of total employed are wage and salary workers
Employed persons fall into any of these three categories: 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.
More than half (56.3%) of the employed persons were wage and salary workers, 29.5
percent were self-employed, 3.5 percent were employer in own family-operated farm or
business and 10.7 percent were unpaid family workers. Among the wage and salary
workers, those working for private establishments comprised the largest proportion
(42.4% of the total employed). Government workers and those working for the
government-controlled corporations comprised 8.3 percent of the total employed, while
workers in private households, 5.3 percent.
Among the self-employed workers, those in the services (50.2% of the self-employed)
and the agriculture (43.6%) sectors made up the largest percentage. Among the unpaid
family workers, seven in ten were in the agriculture sector (71.3% of the unpaid family
workers).
Two-thirds of 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 while part-time workers work for less
than 40 hours. Around 65.0 percent of the total employed persons in July 2011 were
full-time workers with those working for 40 to 48 hours making up a larger proportion
(43.1% of the total employed) than those working more than 48 hours (21.7%). Parttime
workers comprised 34.1 percent of the total employed.
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 job, or to have a
new job with longer working
hours are considered
underemployed. The number
of underemployed persons
was estimated at 7.1 million
in July 2011. This
represented 19.1 percent of
the total employed. Last
year’s estimate was 6.5
million.
Forty-four percent of the underemployed were in the agriculture sector, 40.7 percent
were in the services sector while those in the industry sector, 15.6 percent. Of the
underemployed, those considered as visibly underemployed, or had been working for
less than 40 hours a week, accounted for 55.8 percent.
Unemployment rate is 7.1 percent
The unemployment rate in July 2011 was estimated at 7.1 percent. Among the regions,
the highest unemployment rate was recorded in the NCR at 10.9 percent. The next
highest rates were posted in CALABARZON (10.4%) and Central Luzon (9.6%).
More than half (53.1%) of the unemployed were in the age group 15 to 24 years.
Across educational groups, among the unemployed, high school graduates comprised
one-third (33.6%), while the college graduates, 20.8 percent.
Seven in every ten persons not in the labor force are females
The number of persons not
in the labor force like
housewives, students,
persons with disability, and
retirees was approximately
22 million in July 2011. This
number comprised 35.7
percent of the total
population 15 years old and
over. Seven in every ten
(69.8%) persons who were
not in the labor force were
females.
By age group, the majority of
those who were not in the
labor force were below 35
years of age; that is, 46.2
percent were 15 to 24 years
old and 16.6 percent were 25
to 34 years old.
SUMMARY
The number of persons in the labor force, or those who are either employed
or unemployed was estimated at 39.9 million in July 2011, resulting to a
labor force participation rate of 64.3 percent.
The national employment rate was recorded at 92.9 percent in July this
year.
More than half (52.2%) of the employed persons worked in the services
sector, 32.6 percent in the agricultural sector and 15.2 percent in the
industry sector.
One-third (32.6%) of the employed population were laborers and skilled
workers.
Wage and salary workers accounted for more than one-half (56.3%) of
the total employed persons.
Underemployment rate was estimated at 19.1 percent in July 2011
Majority (55.8%) of the total underemployed were reported to have
been working for less than 40 hours a week.
The unemployment rate was estimated at 7.1 percent in July 2011.
Among regions, the highest unemployment rate was recorded in the
National Capital Region at 10.9 percent.
One in five (20.8%) of the unemployed is a college graduate.
TECHNICAL NOTES
This Labor Force Survey (LFS) is a nationwide survey conducted quarterly by
the National Statistics Office (NSO). For this release, the data being presented are
based on the final results of the July 2011 round of the LFS.
The reference period used in the survey is the past seven days preceding the
date of visit of the enumerator. The number of sample households was 51,000.
The concepts and definitions used in the survey can be found in the regular
NSO-Integrated Survey of Households 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 because of the belief that no work is available, or awaiting
results of previous job application, or because of temporary illness or disability,
bad weather or waiting for rehire or job recall.
Note: This definition of unemployed has been adopted since the April 2005 LFS
as prescribed by NSCB Resolution No. 15 dated October 20, 2004.
The old definition of unemployed considered only two criteria: 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) - proportion of total labor force to the
total household population 15 years and over.
f. Employment Rate - proportion of employed persons to the total labor force.
g. Unemployment Rate - proportion of unemployed persons to the total labor
force.
h. Underemployment Rate - proportion of underemployed persons to total
employed persons.
Starting with the July 2003 round, the LFS used the 2003 Master Sample Design.
Using this master sample design, the number of sample households is around 51,000
households.
The province of Basilan is included in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
while Isabela City in Basilan is placed under Region IX - Zamboanga Peninsula in
accordance with Executive Order No. 36.
The 1992 four-digit code for Philippine Standard Occupational Classification (PSOC)
and 1994 Philippine Standard Industry Classification (PSIC) were used in classifying
occupation and industry, respectively.
Starting with the January 2007 LFS round, the population projections based on
the 2000 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) has been adopted to generate the
labor force statistics. This is in compliance with NSCB Resolution No. 1 series of 2005
entitled Adoption of the Methodology Used in Generating the 2000 Census of Population
and Housing-Based National Population Projections.
Starting with the January 2010 LFS round, a revised nomenclature on class of
worker was adopted. 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 "ownaccount
worker" is synonymous to the category "self-employed" in the Philippines
LFS.
1) Without work and looking for work; or
2) Without work and not looking for work due to valid reasons.
Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines
Page last revised: March 1, 2012