Employment in establishments in NCR posted continuous drop in the first half of 2020

The first and second quarters of 2020 showed evident drops in employment growth in establishments located in the National Capital Region (NCR) as the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic started to progress. Labor turnover, as an indicator of employment growth, is measured by the difference in accession and separation rates. During the first quarter, labor turnover was posted at -1.4 percent, and it continued to decline during the second quarter at -7.6 percent. These can be translated to reductions of 14 workers in the first quarter while 76 workers in the second quarter for every 1000 persons employed in establishments.

Accession rates registered for the two quarters implied that for every 1,000 employed, 93 workers in the first quarter, and 44 workers in the second quarter were hired either for business expansion or as replacement for separated workers. Separation rates indicated that for every 1000 employed, 107 workers in the first quarter, and 120 workers in the second quarter either quit their jobs or were laid off by their employers. (Table 1)

Labor turnover in all sectors of the economy dropped during the second quarter of 2020

By sector, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing recorded a sudden fall from 9.4 percent during the first quarter to -0.8 percent during the second quarter. A similar trend was observed in the industry sector for the same periods wherein employment growth was at 0.9 percent and -5.1 percent, respectively. The services sector had depicted a declining labor turnover since the first quarter of the year at -2.0 percent to -8.1 percent by the end of the second quarter, the lowest among the three sectors.

The decline in the services sector during the first quarter was mainly due to the reduction of employees in the accommodation and food service activities (-8.3%), followed by other service activities, including personal services for wellness, except sports activities; laundry services; domestic services; and other personal activities (-7.6%). For the second quarter, reduction of workforce in the services sector was mostly attributable to administrative support and service activities (-15.6%), followed by the wholesale and retail trade (-8.7%), and other service activities (-8.4%).

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

See more at the Labor Turnover Survey (LTS) Landing page.