EMPLOYMENT

Employment level in establishments is 5.08 million

• In June 2018, the country’s total employment in establishments with 20 or more workers reached a total of 5,077,410 workers.  This was higher by 15.8 percent relative to the 4,384,678 workers in June 2016. 

• By industry group, administrative and support services activities employed the most number of workers at 25.9 percent of the total employment.  Manufacturing followed with 21.3 percent.  Wholesale and retail trade ranked third with 11.8 percent.

Rank and file workers dominate employment

• The total number of persons employed was composed mainly of the rank and file workers at 87.3 percent.  Supervisors/foremen and managers/executives accounted for less than 10 percent (7.5% and 4.9%, respectively).  Working owners and unpaid workers shared the remaining less than one percent (0.3%).

Three for every seven workers are female

• About forty-three percent of the estimated 5.08 million employed persons in June 2018 are female.

• Of the total female employees, 86.1 percent were rank and file; 13.6 percent were holding managerial or supervisory positions; while less than one percent were either working owners or unpaid workers.

Manufacturing employed the highest percentage of persons with disability (PWDs)

• The total number of employed PWDs was at 6,042 workers; of which 34.4 percent are females.  Manufacturing industry employed the highest percentage of employed PWDs at 27.1 percent.  Wholesale and retail trade ranked second with 22.1 percent.

More than half of the total establishments resorted to agency-hired workers

• As of June 2018, 53.4 percent of the total establishments employing 20 or more workers outsourced services of workers from manpower agencies.  Across industries, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (76.5%) topped the list in terms of the highest proportion of establishments with agency hired workers, followed by human health and social work activities except public health activities (69.5%), and manufacturing (59.9%).

OCCUPATIONAL SHORTAGES AND SURPLUSES

Services sector has the bulk of job vacancies

• Out of 32,517 total establishments, 50.6 percent had job vacancies from July 2017 to June 2018.  A total of 811,775 vacancies of various positions in all industries were available during the period.

• The services sector recorded the highest number of job openings at 81.4 percent of the total.  The Industry sector reported 18.1 percent; while the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector accounted for the remaining 0.4 percent of the total vacant positions.

TRAINING OF WORKERS

More than half of the establishments provide job-related training

• About 55.8 percent of the total number of establishments provided job-related trainings to their employees in 2017.

• Among industry groups, the highest proportion of establishments with training provided to their workers was posted in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (89.3%).  This was followed by establishments engaged in water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (76.5%) and financial and insurance activities (75.7%).

CLAIRE DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

See more at the Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment (ISLE) Landing page.

TECHNICAL NOTES

The Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment (ISLE) is an establishment-based nationwide survey which aims to generate an integrated data set on unionism and collective bargaining, employment of specific groups of workers, occupational shortages and surpluses, training of workers, productivity improvement program and gainsharing practices, employees compensation program,  occupational safety and health practices and occupational injuries and diseases.  These data are inputs to studies on industry trends and practices and serve as bases for the formulation of policies on employment, conditions of work and industrial relations.  To some extent, the survey results are also used to assess the progress of decent work in the country.

The ISLE is being conducted every two years covering establishments in both agricultural and non-agricultural industries with total employment of 20 or more. The survey covers 18 major industries classified according to the 2009 Philippine Standard Industrial Classification (PSIC).  A total of 16,506 establishments were selected as samples for the 2017/2018 ISLE.

The reference periods for 2017/2018 ISLE for the following modules are:

a) Employment - June 30, 2018
b) Occupational Shortages and Surpluses – July 2017 to June 2018
c) Training of Workers - Calendar Year 2017

This Press Release is the first part of the results of the survey that features the highlights of the employment modules based on the 73.83 percent response rates for all industries.

Definition of Terms and Concepts

Establishment refers to an economic unit engaged in one or predominantly one kind of economic activity under single ownership

Employment refers to persons who worked or received pay from the establishment.
Includes:
• working owners with or without regular pay
• salaried directors, managers and executives
• regular and non-regular workers, e.g., probationary, casual, contractual/project-based, seasonal and paid apprentices/learners 
• persons on paid vacation, sick, maternity, paternity, service incentive leave and other paid leaves
• persons working away from the establishment but paid by and under its control, e.g., bus drivers
• workers on strike/lockout
• unpaid workers without regular pay who work for at least 1/3 of the working time normal to the establishment including apprentices without compensation or student on-the-job trainees

Excludes:
• silent or inactive partners
• members of the board of directors paid solely for attendance at meetings
• consultants, persons on retainer basis, contract out/agency hired workers, homeworkers
• workers on indefinite leave, laid off workers for six (6) months or more
• persons purely on commission and without employer control

Working Owners are defined as owners who already engaged in the management of the establishment but do not receive regular pay.

Unpaid Workers refer to workers without regular pay who work for at least one-third of the working time normal to the establishment.

Paid Employees includes full-time and part-time employees working in or for the establishment and receiving regular pay, as well as those working away from this establishment and paid by and under the control of this establishment.

categorized into:

Managers and Executives are workers whose main responsibilities are to determine and formulate policies and plan, direct, control and coordinate the activities of enterprises and organizations, or their internal departments or sections.  Working owners receiving regular pay are included;

Supervisors/Foremen are workers whose main responsibilities are to plan, direct, organize and supervise the daily activities of workers in the section or unit concerned with the production of goods or the provision of services, subject to the general directive of managers; and

Rank and File Workers refer to workers who do not fall within the managerial or  supervisory classification of employees.  These consist of:

i. Regular Workers are workers hired to perform activities which areusually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer and usually worked on permanent status; and

ii. Non-Regular Workers are workers who worked on temporary status for a particular project or specific period of time; classified into probationary, casual, contractual, seasonal or apprentices/learners.

Female Workers are women working as working owners, unpaid workers or employees.

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are workers who have physical, mental or sensory impairments which may hinder their full and effective participation in the workplace on an equal basis with others.

Agency-hired workers are workers employed by the contractors to perform or complete job, work or service pursuant to a service agreement within the premises of the establishment. They are excluded from the total employment of the establishment.

Job Vacancies refer to unfilled job openings, which are immediately available for placement and for which active recruitment steps are being undertaken anytime during the reference period.

Job-related Training are trainings conducted by the establishment and by other institutions.  General orientations, team buildings and similar activities are excluded.