Release Date :
Reference Number :
2018-097
More than 60 percent of the population 15 years old and over are in the labor force
In January 2018, the total population 15 years old and over was estimated at 70.9 million wherein the number of persons who were in the labor force was reported at 44.1 million . This placed the labor force participation rate (LFPR) at 62.2 percent , which means that six in ten of the population aged 15 years and over were either employed or unemployed.
Northern Mindanao (Region X) had the highest reported LFPR with 72.0 percent while the lowest LFPR reported was in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) at 46.1 percent (Table 1 and Figure 1).
Employment rate is recorded at 94.7 percent
The total number of employed persons was estimated at 41.8 million. The employment rate reported or the proportion of employed persons to total labor force was 94.7 percent (Table 1 and Figure 2).
Five of the 17 regions, namely: NCR (92.2%) , Ilocos Region (93.3%) , CALABARZON (93.3%) , Central Visayas (94.2%) and Central Luzon (94.6%) registered an employment rate lower than the national figure (Table 1 and Figure 2).
More males are employed than females
Three in every five (61.7%) of the estimated 41.8 million employed persons in January 2018 were males. Employed females were reported at 38.3 percent of the total employed persons (Table 3 and Figure 3).
The largest number of employed persons were in the age group 25 to 34 years with 26.6 percent of the total employed. The 35 to 44 age group comprised the second largest group (22.9%), while the 45 to 54 age group made up the third largest group (18.4%).
More than half of the employed persons are working in services sector
The employed persons were grouped in three broad sectors, namely: agriculture, industry, and services sector. Workers in the services sector comprised the largest proportion of the employed population. These employed persons made up 57.1 percent of the total employed in January 2017 and 55.9 percent in January 2018. Workers in the industry sector slightly increased from 17.4 percent in January 2017 to 18.1 percent in January 2018 . Workers in the agriculture sector also slightly increased from 25.5 percent in January 2017 to 26.0 percent in January 2018 (Table 4 and Figure 4).
Classified according to sub-sector or major industry groups, workers in the agriculture, forestry, and hunting sub-sector comprised the biggest percentage of the total employed in January 2018 (23.6%) and January 2017 (22.5%) . Those in the wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles ranked next at 19.8 percent of the total employed in January 2018 and 20.1 percent in January 2017 (Table 4).
More than one-fourth of employed persons are in elementary occupations
Among the various occupation groups, workers in elementary occupations made up the largest percentage of the employed population in January 2017 and January 2018 , with 25.4 percent and 27.6 percent , respectively (Table 5). Managers were the second largest group of workers with 16.8 percent in January 2017 and 16.2 percent in January 2018 . Service and sales workers came in third with 15.4 percent in January 2017 and 14.7 percent in January 2018 . Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers were accounted at 13.4 percent in January 2017 , and 13.1 percent in January 2018 .
More than 60 percent of the 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 worked without pay in own family-operated farm or business or 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 January 2018 , around 61.7 percent of the total employed persons were wage and salary workers. Those who worked in private establishments made up 48.7 percent and those working in government and government-controlled corporations were accounted at 8.1 percent (Table 6) . About 27.7 percent of the total employed persons were self-employed without any paid employee or those who were engaged in self-employment. The unpaid family workers made up 6.9 percent and the employer in own family-operated farm or business, 3.6 percent .
Classified according to broad industry group, three in every five unpaid family workers (58.5%) and employer in own family-operated farm or business (58.3%) were in the agriculture sector. Whereas sixty percent (60.3%) of wage and salary workers and more than half of the self-employed without any paid employee (53.7%) were in the services sector (Table 7 and Figure 6) .
Two-thirds of the total employed persons are full-time workers
Employed persons are classified as either full-time workers or part-time workers. Full-time workers are those who work for 40 hours or more during the reference week while part-time workers work for less than 40 hours .
In January 2018 , full-time workers comprised 63.6 percent of the total employed persons, and the rest, part-time (35.2%) or with a job but not at work (1.2%). Among those who worked full-time, 20.7 percent worked more than 48 hours during the reference week (Table 8).
Underemployment rate is registered at 18.0 percent
The underemployed persons or those 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 were estimated at 7.5 million persons corresponding to an underemployment rate of 18.0 percent (Tables 1 and 2).
By sector, 44.6 percent of the underemployed persons worked in the services sector, while 36.2 percent were in the agriculture sector. Those in the industry sector accounted for 19.2 percent (Figure 7) .
Underemployed persons who work for less than 40 hours in a week are called visibly underemployed. They accounted for more than half (57.1%) of the total underemployed in January 2018 . By comparison, the underemployed persons who worked for 40 hours or more in a week made up 41.1 percent . (Table 9).
Unemployment rate reaches 5.3 percent
In January 2018 , the unemployed persons numbered 2.3 million resulting to an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent (Tables 1 and 2). Among the regions, NCR (7.8%) , CALABARZON (6.7%) , Ilocos Region (6.7%) , Central Visayas (5.8%) and Central Luzon (5.4%) were the regions with unemployment rates higher than the national figure (Table 1 and Figure 8) .
There were more unemployed males (65.5%) than unemployed females (34.5%) (Table 3) . By educational attainment, 29.4 percent of the unemployed were junior high school graduates, and 21.9 percent were college graduates (Table 10) .
Seven in ten persons who are not in the labor force are women
In January 2018 , about 26.8 million or 37.8 percent of the total population 15 years old and over were not in the labor force (Table 3). These include housewives, students, persons with disability, and those who have retired from their employment. About 69.3 percent of those not in the labor force were women.
By age group, 43.9 percent of those not in the labor force belonged to the age group 15 to 24 years (Table 3 and Figure 9) .
SUMMARY STATISTICS
The labor force population in January 2018 was estimated at 44.1 million . This translates to a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 62.2 percent .
Total employed persons were approximately 41.8 million , resulting to a national employment rate of 94.7 percent .
Five in ten (55.9%) of the total employed were in the services sector, 26.0 percent were in the agriculture sector and 18.1 percent were in the industry sector.
Workers in elementary occupations made up the largest proportion of employed persons as they comprised 27.6 percent of the total employed population.
Total unemployed persons were accounted at 2.3 million which translates to an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent .
Underemployment rate was estimated at 18.0 percent .
(Sgd.) LISA GRACE S. BERSALES, 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 January 2018 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.
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. For the 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.
See more at the Labor Force Survey landing page.
