Summary:

Note: Estimates are preliminary results and subject to change.

• The number of employed persons according to the July 2006 Labor Force Survey (LFS) was 33.3 million. This is 735 thousand or 2.3 percent more than the 32.5 million posted in July 2005. The employment rate in July 2006 was 92.0 percent.

• The employment rate was highest in Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) at 96.8 percent and lowest in the National Capital Region (NCR) at 86.5 percent.

• The increase in the overall employment level came mostly from the services sector as the number of employed persons in this sector increased by 5.6 percent, from 15.5 million in July 2005 to 16.4 million in July 2006. The number of employed persons in the industry sector increased by only 0.2 percent. There were respective increases in employment in the three industry sub-sectors: mining & quarrying (23 thousand), manufacturing (two thousand), and electricity, gas & water (three thousand). However, employment in construction sub-sector declined by 18 thousand.

• The level of employment in the agriculture sector, on the other hand, decreased by 149 thousand, from 12.0 million in July 2005 to 11.8 million in July 2006. In the fishing sub-sector, the employment level increased by 31 thousand, while in the agriculture, hunting and forestry sub-sector there was a decrease of 180 thousand.

• The number of wage and salary workers was estimated at 17.5 million, up by 7.5 percent from the July 2005 figure of 16.3 million. The increase was mostly due to the 712 thousand increase in the services sector and 464 thousand in agriculture sector. Meanwhile, the number of own-account and unpaid family workers decreased by 1.8 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. The declines were mainly in the agriculture sector.

• The full time workers or those who worked for 40 hours or more numbered 21 million, posting an increase of 3.6 percent from last year?s figure of 20.2 million. The part-time workers or those who worked for less than 40 hours decreased by 0.2 percent.

• Employed persons who wanted or desired additional hours of work or those who were underemployed, were estimated at 7.8 million in July 2006. This was 1.2 million more than the 6.7 million estimated a year ago. As a result, the underemployment rate rose from 20.5 percent in July 2005 to 23.5 percent in July 2006. About 56.6 percent of the underemployed were reported as visibly underemployed, or worked for less than 40 hours a week. An increase in the level of underemployment was seen in all major industry sectors. The biggest increase was in services sector with 628 thousand more underemployed persons in July 2006 compared to the July 2005 figure of 2.4 million.

• The total labor force in July 2006 was estimated at 36.2 million, translating to a labor force participation rate of 64.7 percent. On the other hand, about 19.7 million were considered not in the labor force. The majority of those who were not in the labor force were below 35 years of age, that is, 44.9 percent were 15 to 24 years old and 17.1 percent were 25 to 34 years old.

• The number of unemployed persons in July 2006 was estimated at 2.9 million, resulting to an unemployment rate of 8.0 percent. Males had a higher unemployment rate of 8.2 percent compared to females at 7.8 percent. The estimate of 2.9 million unemployed persons was 7.1 percent higher than the estimate for the same period last year. About fifty percent of the unemployed belonged to age group 15-24 years. One third of the total unemployed (33.0%) were high school graduates and 19.3 percent were college undergraduates.

• If the old definition of unemployment were used, (that is considering only two criteria: (1) without work and (2) looking for work including those not seeking work with valid reasons), the unemployment rate for July 2006 would register at 11.7 percent, an increase of 0.8 percentage point from the July 2005 figure of 10.9 percent. Also, using the old definition, the unemployment level would be 4.4 million in July 2006 compared to 4.0 million in July 2005.

Technical Notes

• Starting with the July 2003 round of the Labor Force Survey, the generation of the labor force and employment statistics adopted the 2003 Master Sample Design.

• Using this new master sample design, the number of samples increased from 41,000 to around 51,000 sample households.

• The province of Basilan is grouped under Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao while Isabela City (Basilan) is now grouped under Region IX, 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 the occupation and industry.

• Starting April 2005, the new unemployment definition was adopted per NSCB Resolution no. 15 dated October 20, 2004. As indicated in the said resolution, the unemployed include all persons who are 15 years old and over as of their last birthday and are reported as: (1) without work and currently available for work and seeking work; OR (2) without work and currently available for work but not seeking work for the following reasons:

  1.)  Tired/believed no work available

  2.)  Awaiting results of previous job application

  3.)  Temporary illness/disability

  4.)  Bad Weather

  5.)  Waiting for rehire/job recall