Two-thirds of the population 15 years old and over are in the labor force

The population aged 15 years and over in July 2013 is estimated at 64.470 million. Out of this number, 41.178 million persons were in the labor force. These figures translate into a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 63.9 percent. Among the regions, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had the lowest LFPR with 54.1 percent. Other regions having an LFPR lower than the national figure are Ilocos Region (61.4%), Central Luzon (62.4%), and Western Visayas (61.8%) (Table 1A and Table 2A).

Employment rate is 93.0 percent

The employment rate in July 2013 is estimated at 92.7 percent. In comparison, the employment rate reported for the same month of 2012 was 93.0 percent

Among the regions, the National Capital Region (NCR) had the lowest employment rate at 89.1 percent. Three other regions, namely, Ilocos Region (91.5%), Central Luzon (91.0%) and CALABARZON (90.9%), had rates lower than the national figure (Table 1A).

Three in five of the employed population are males

Three in five (60.9%) of the employed population in July 2013 were males.

One in four (26.5%) 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 22.9 percent of the total employed, followed by the 15 to 24 age group with 19.0 percent (Table 3A).

More than half of the total employed persons are in the services sector

The number of employed persons in July 2013 was approximately 38.175 million. More than half (53.4%) of this number worked in services the sector. Three in every ten (30.9%) were in agriculture sector and 15.6 percent were in the industry sector (Figure 4).

Classified according to subsector of major industry groups, workers in the agriculture, hunting and forestry subsector comprised the biggest percentage (27.2%) of the total employed. Those employed in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles, came next registering 18.8 percent of the total employed (Table 4A).

One-third of employed population are laborers and unskilled workers

Among the various occupation groups, laborers and unskilled workers comprised the largest proportion (32.2%) of the total employed population. Officials of the government and special-interest organizations, corporate executives, managers, managing proprietors and supervisors were the second largest group, accounting for 16.5 percent of the total employed population. Farmers, forestry workers and fisherman comprised the third largest group of workers, making up 13.1 percent of the total employed (Table 5A).

More than half of total employed persons are wage and salary workers

Employed persons fall into any of these four classes of workers: 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 worked 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 (58.2%) of the employed persons in July 2013 were wage and salary workers, 28.3 percent were self-employed, 3.4 percent were employer in own family-operated farm or business and 10.1 percent were unpaid family workers. Among the wage and salary workers, those working for private establishments comprised the largest proportion (44.7% of the total employed). Government workers and those working for the government-controlled corporations comprised 7.9 percent of the total employed, while workers in private households, 5.2 percent (Table 6A).

More than half of total employed persons are wage and salary workers

Employed persons fall into any of these four classes of workers: 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 worked 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 (58.2%) of the employed persons in July 2013 were wage and salary workers, 28.3 percent were self-employed, 3.4 percent were employer in own family-operated farm or business and 10.1 percent were unpaid family workers. Among the wage and salary workers, those working for private establishments comprised the largest proportion (44.7% of the total employed). Government workers and those working for the government-controlled corporations comprised 7.9 percent of the total employed, while workers in private households, 5.2 percent (Table 6A).

Three in five (60.3%) of the wage and salary workers were in the services sector. In contrast, about seven in ten (69.2%) of the unpaid family workers were in the agriculture sector (Table 7A and Figure 6).

Two-thirds of the 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 in a week, while part-time workers work for less than 40 hours. Of the total employed persons in July 2013, 64.7 percent were full-time workers while 34.5 percent were part-time workers. By comparison, in July 2012, full-time workers comprised 65.5 percent while part-time workers made up 33.8 percent (Table 8A).

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 new job with longer working hours are considered underemployed. The underemployment rate in July 2013 was estimated at 19.2 percent compared to last years estimate of 22.8 percent. More than half (57.1%) of the total underemployed were reported as visibly underemployed or working less than 40 hours during the reference week. Those working for 40 hours or more made up 41.8 percent. By sector, about 42.0 percent of underemployed worked in the services sector, while 41.7 percent were in the agriculture sector. Those in the industry sector accounted for 16.3 percent (Table 9A).

Of the underemployed workers in the services sector, 47.5 percent were part-time workers. By comparison, 38.5 percent of the underemployed in the industry sector were working part-time. As to be expected, the corresponding percentage in the agriculture sector was high at 74.0 percent (Table 9A).

Unemployment rate is 7.3 percent

The unemployment rate in July 2013 was estimated at 7.3 percent. Among regions, the NCR continued to have the highest unemployment rate. The estimate for July 2013 is 10.9 percent (Table 1A).

Among the unemployed persons, 61.3 percent were males. Almost half (48.9%) of the unemployed persons belonged to the age group 15 to 24 years (Table 3A).

By educational attainment, about one-fifth (21.7%) of the unemployed were college graduates, 13.6 percent were college undergraduates, and 32.8 percent were high school graduates (Table 10A).

By educational attainment, about one-fifth (21.7%) of the unemployed were college graduates, 13.6 percent were college undergraduates, and 32.8 percent were high school graduates (Table 10A).

Seven in every ten persons who are not in the labor force are females

In July 2013, 36.1 percent of the population 15 years old and over were not in the labor force like housewives, students, persons with disability, and retirees. Seven in ten (69.9%) of those who were not in the labor force were females (Table 3A).

By age group, 45.6 percent of those who were not in the labor force were 15 to 24 years old (Table 3A).

SUMMARY

- The number of persons in the labor force, or those who are either employed or unemployed was estimated at 41.178 million in July 2013, resulting to a labor force participation rate of 63.9 percent.

- The national employment rate was recorded at 92.7 percent in July this year.

- More than half (53.4%) of the employed persons worked in the services sector, 30.9 percent in the agricultural sector and 15.6 percent in the industry sector.

- One-third (32.2%) of the employed population were laborers and unskilled workers.

- Wage and salary workers accounted for more than one-half (58.2%) of the total employed.

- Underemployment rate was estimated at 19.2 percent in July 2013.

- Majority (57.1%) of the total underemployed were reported to have been working for less than 40 hours a week.

 The unemployment rate was estimated at 7.3 percent in July 2013.

- The highest unemployment rate was recorded in the National Capital Region at 10.9 percent.

- Unemployed college graduates accounted for 21.7 percent of the total unemployed.

Technical Notes

The 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 2013 round of the LFS.

The reference period used in the survey is the seven days preceding the date of visit of the enumerator. The number of sample households was around 50,000.

The concepts and definitions used in the survey can be found in NSO-Integrated Survey of Household 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:

c.1 without work; and

c.2 currently available for work; and

c.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.

The new definition of unemployed was adopted starting April 2005 per NSCB Resolution No. 15 dated October 20, 2004.

The old definition of unemployed considered only two criteria:

1) Without work and looking for work; or

2) Without work and not looking for work due to reasons cited in c.3(i) to c.3(v).

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 design, the number of sample households is around 50,000 households.

The province of Basilan is included in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao while Isabela City (Basilan) is placed under Region IX in accordance with Executive Order No. 36.

Starting with the January 2007 LFS round, the population projections based on the 2000 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) was adopted to generate the labor force statistics. The 2000 CPH-based population projections has been endorsed as the official figures to be utilized for planning and programming purposes per NSCB Resolution No. 7 Series of 2006, entitled "Adopting of the Methodology Used in Generating the 2000 Census of Population and Housing-Based National, Regional and Provincial Population Projections".

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

Starting with the January 2010 LFS round, a revised nomenclature on class of worker is 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 "own-account worker" is synonymous to the category "self-employed" in the Philippines LFS.

Starting with the 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. While in the classification of occupation, the 1992 four-digit code for Philippine Standard Occupational Classification (PSOC) updated in 2002 was still utilized.