The Labor Force Survey (LFS) provides a snapshot or the stock of economically active persons in the country at a particular point or reference period. It aims to monitor the changes in the employment status of persons in the working age population (employed, unemployed and not in the labor force) during a specified time period using the Labor Force Framework.
The LFS concept and measurement follows the international standards concerning statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment adopted by the 13th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in October 1982 at Geneva, Switzerland.
CAR Labor Force Participation Rate (LFRP) is 65.5%
- The results of the July 2016 Labor Force Survey showed that the Philippines’ labor force participation rate of persons whose age is 15 years old and over was estimated at
63.2 percent or about 43.28 million. - Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) was among the region with an LFPR higher than the national rate.
- Negros Island Region (NIR) had the highest LFPR of 70.5 percent translated to about 2,205,000 persons in the labor force.
- The region’s LFPR decreased by 0.4 percentage point from 65.9 percent in April 2016 to 65.5 percent in July 2016.
Table 1. Labor Force Participation Rate, Top Four Regions: July 2016
| Country / Region | Total Population 15 Years Old and Over | Total Labor Force | Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philippines | 68, 443,000 | 43, 286, 000 | 63.2 |
| Negros Island Region | 3, 126, 000 | 2, 205, 000 | 70.5 |
| Region X: Northern Mindanao | 3, 179, 000 | 2, 124, 000 | 66.8 |
| Region II: Cagayan Valley | 2, 336, 000 | 1, 541, 000 | 66.0 |
| CAR | 1, 218, 000 | 797, 000 | 65.5 |
Source: April 2016 and July 2016 Labor Force Survey, Philippine Statistics Authority
More Males Employed in CAR
- Of the 758, 000 employed persons in CAR for July 2016, 61.0 percent were males while 39.0 percent were females.
- Employed males in the region increased by 1.3 percentage point from the 59.7 percent employed in April 2016 to 61.0 percent in July 2016.
- On the other hand, employed females decreased by 1.3 percentage point from 40.3 percent employed females in April 2016 to 39.0 percent in July 2016.
Employment by Educational Attainment
- As to educational attainment of employed persons, 38.6 percent had high school education of which 25.7 percent graduated while 12.9 percent did not graduate.
- Employed persons with college education followed with 29.6 percent of the total employed persons in the region. Of these, 17.9 percent graduated while 11.7 percent did not finish college.
- Employed persons with elementary level education came third with a share of 23.6 percent, of which 11.5 percent graduated while 12.1 percent did not graduate.
- Employed persons with Post-Secondary level education accounted to only 6.0 percent of the total employed persons in the region. There were 5.7 percent employed persons who graduated while 0.4 percent were undergraduates.
- The percentage of employed persons in CAR for July 2016 with no education or grade level completed was at 2.0 percent. This level had the lowest incidence of employment in the region.
Agriculture Industry Employs the Most
- Agriculture and Forestry continued to be the biggest employer in the region with 41.4 percent share in July 2016. The share of the industry decreased by
2.9 percentage point compared to April 2016. - Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles ranked as the second largest major industry group with 13.1 percent of the total employed persons in July 2016.
- Public Administration and Defense made up the third largest major industry group accounting for 7.8 percent in July 2016.
- Manufacturing shared only 3.0 percent of the total employed persons in the region in July 2016 considering that this sub-industry group contributes the most to the regional economy.
Elementary Occupations Comprise 30.2%
- Among the occupation groups, elementary occupations remained to be the largest group of employed persons in CAR with 30.2 percent of the total regional employment in July 2016. This increased by 3.5 percentage points compared to April 2016.
- Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers ranked as the second largest occupation group with 20.8 percent of the total employed persons in July 2016, which increased by 1.8 percentage points from April 2016.
- Managers made up the third largest occupational group accounting for 13.2 percent in July 2016.
- The rest of the major occupation groups comprised 35.8 percent of the total employed persons in the entire labor force of the region in July 2016.
Table 4. Employed Person by Major Occupation Groups inCAR: April 2016 and July 2016
| Major Occupation Groups | April 2016 | Share (%) | July 2016 | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total of Employed Persons | 766, 000 | 100.00 | 758, 000 | 100.0 |
| 1. Elementary Occupations | 228, 000 | 29.8 | 229, 000 | 30.2 |
| 2. Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers | 173, 000 | 22.6 | 158, 000 | 20.8 |
| 3. Managers | 96,000 | 12.5 | 100,000 | 13.2 |
| 4. Service and Sales Workers | 77, 000 | 10.0 | 75, 000 | 9.9 |
| 5. Professionals | 51, 000 | 6.6 | 52, 000 | 6.8 |
| 6. Craft and Related Trade Workers | 37, 000 | 4.8 | 37, 000 | 4.8 |
| 7. Clerical Support Workers | 31, 000 | 4.0 | 32, 000 | 4.2 |
| 8. Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers | 50, 000 | 6.5 | 49, 000 | 6.5 |
| 9. Technicians and Associate Professionals | 22, 000 | 2.9 | 22, 000 | 2.9 |
| 10. Armed Forces Occupations, Non-gainful Activities and Special Occupations | 3, 000 | 0.4 | 5, 000 | 0.6 |
Source: April 2016 and July 2016 Labor Force Survey, Philippine Statistics Authority
Underemployment at 25.2%
- The underemployment rate of CAR was 25.2 percent and the visible underemployment rate was 10.6 percent for July 2016.
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The total underemployment in CAR was 191,000 of which 58.1 percent of the underemployed persons already worked 40 hours per week and over.
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Meanwhile, those who work less than 40 hours a week accounted 41.9 percent of the total underemployed population in the region.
Unemployment
- Unemployment rate in the region increased by 0.9 percentage point, from 4.0 percent in April 2016 to 4.9 percent in July 2016.
- The unemployed male population accounted for 56.4 percent of the total unemployed persons in the region, while 43.6 percent were unemployed females.
Table 5. Distribution of Unemployed Persons by Sex in CAR: July 2016
| UNEMPLOYED PERSONS | PERCENTAGE | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2016 | July 2016 | April 2016 | July 2016 | |
| CAR | 32, 000 | 39, 000 | 100% | 100% |
| Male | 18, 000 | 22, 000 | 56% | 56.4% |
| Female | 14, 000 | 17, 000 | 44% | 43.6% |
Source: April 2016 and July 2016 Labor Force Survey, Philippine Statistics Authority
Technical Notes
In the Labor Force or Economically Active Population - This refers to population 15 years old and over who are either employed or unemployed in accordance with the definitions described below.
Employed Persons - Persons who, during the reference period are 15 years and over as of their last birthday and are reported either:
a. At work - Those who do any work even for one hour during the reference period for pay or profit, or work without pay on the farm or business enterprise operated by a member of the same household related by blood, marriage or adoption; or
b. With a job but not at work - Those who have a job or business but are not at work because of temporary illness/injury, vacation or other reasons. Likewise, persons who expect to report for work or to start operation of a farm or business enterprise within two weeks from the date of the enumerator's visit are considered employed.
Underemployed Persons - Employed persons who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or an additional job; or to have a new job with longer working hours. Visibly underemployed persons are those who work for less than 40 hours during the reference period and want additional hours of work.
Unemployed Persons - Persons who, during the reference period are 15 years old and over as of their last birthday who have no job/business and actively looking for work. Also considered as unemployed are persons without a job or business who are reported not looking for work because of their belief that no work was available or because of temporary illness/disability, bad weather, pending job application or waiting for job interview.
Persons Not in the Labor Force - Persons 15 years old and over who are neither employed nor unemployed according to the definitions mentioned. It refers to those persons who are not looking for work because of reasons such as housekeeping, schooling, etc. Examples are housewives, students, disabled or retired persons.
Work - Any economic activity that a person does for pay in cash or in kind, in any establishment, office, farm, private home or for profit or without pay on a family farm or enterprise. It also includes what a farm operator or member of the operator's family does on the farm operated by another household on exchange labor arrangement.
Work also refers to any activity that a person does in relation to minor activities in home gardening, raising of crops, fruits, hogs, poultry etc., fishing for home consumption and manufacturing for own use are also considered work. There must be some harvest in the case of home gardening, raising of crops, fruits and nuts and gathering of wild fruits and vegetables; animals disposed of (sold, consumed, bartered or given away) or some catch in fishing in order that these activities will be considered work.
Unpaid family workers or those who work without pay on own family-operated farm or business - These are members of the family who assist another member in the operation of the family farm or business enterprise, and who do not receive any wage or salary for their work. The room and board and any cash allowance given as incentives are not counted as compensation for these family workers.
Number of hours worked - This refers to the total number of hours a person actually worked in all the jobs/businesses that he held. It includes the duration or the period the person was occupied in his work, including overtime, but excluding hours paid but not worked. The normal working hours per day is the usual or prescribed working hours of a person in his primary job/business which is considered a full day's work.
