Statement of Secretary of Labor and Employment Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz:
On the Social Weather Stations survey on unmenployment

[Released on February 23, 2012]

For 2011, the country’s labor market performed better as the employment level rose by 3.2 percent from 2.9 percent in 2010, or 1.156 million in new employment generated. This number represents the average of the four rounds of the Labor Force Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office in January, April, July, and October 2011.

By survey round, the employment growth are as follows: January, 0.8 percent, or 292,000 new employment generated; April, 4.0 percent, or 1.407 million; July, 2.4 percent, or 869,000; and October, 5.6 percent or 2.057 million.

Growth in part-time employment, on the average, was registered at 6.3 percent, or 794,000; while full-time employment, which is one indicator of employment quality, grew by 1.5 percent, or 352,000.

Another indicator of the quality of employment was the increase in wage and salary employment, which in 2011 expanded by 4.6 percent, or 911,000.

One positive feature of the labor market in 2011 is that it posted modest improvements in two of the five millennium development goals (MDG) indicators.

The first is in the employment-to-population ratio, which went up from 59.3 percent to 60.1 percent. The second is in vulnerable employment which went down slightly from 41.7 percent to 41.1 percent.

It is true that underemployment was a major challenge in 2011, as the number of underemployed persons was registered at 19.3 percent, or 7.163 million. This represented an increase of 0.8 percent, or 401,000.

Underemployed persons, according to internationally-accepted definition, are those employed persons who want additional hours of work in their present jobs; or to have an additional job; or a new job with longer working hours.

The country’s official unemployment rate, based on the LFS, is 7.0 percent, or 2.814 million, down by 45,000 from the 2.859 million unemployed in 2010, or 7.4 percent.

On the other hand, unemployed persons, based on the internationally accepted definition, are persons 15 years old and above who simultaneously satisfy three criteria:
1.without work or had no job or business;
2.looking for or seeking work; and
3.currently available for work during the basic reference period or within two weeks after the interview date.
Also included as part of the unemployed are those persons who were jobless and available for work but did not look for work due to the following reasons: (a) belief that no work was available (discouraged unemployed); (b) temporary illness/disability; (c) bad weather; (d) awaiting results of previous job application; and (e) awaiting for rehire or job recall.

While it is true that unemployment is high among the 15-24 age bracket, the fact was that youth unemployment decreased from 51.0 percent in 2010 to 50.4 percent in 2011, or 1.417 million.

Among men, unemployment dropped from 63.2 percent in 2010 to 63.0 percent in 2011, or 1.772 million, and slightly eased up among women, by 9,000 from 1.051 million in 2010 to 1.042 million in 2011.

As to the survey of SWS on retrenched workers, the DOLE’s Bureau of Employment Statistics (BLES) periodically monitors retrenched workers based on notices of terminations by employers as reported by the DOLE regional offices. Not all notices of termination materialize into actual retrenchment or displacement.

According to BLES data, the number of retrenched/displaced workers decreased to 27,564 as of October 2011 from the recorded 36, 583 workers in 2010.

The BLES also measures every quarter accession and separation rates in large enterprises in Metro Manila to capture job creation and job displacement, also called labor turnover rate.

The third quarter results of the BLES accession and separation study showed that more employment was created in Metro Manila as the accession (hiring) rate of 11.05 percent surpassed the separation (termination) rate of 8.55 percent, by 2.51 percentage points.

This suggests an increase of 25 workers per 1,000 employed persons, meaning, 111 workers per 1,000 employed were added to the enterprise’s workforce due to expansion or replacement, while 86 workers per 1,000 employed were terminated or quit their jobs.

We again emphasize that the December 3-7 SWS survey on employment and its results are not comparable with the quarterly Labor Force Survey of the National Statistics Office (NSO), which is the official reference of the government and by the World Bank, ADB, IMF, ILO, and other Philippine development partners.

For one, the methodologies of the two surveys are different. The SWS has a respondent coverage of 1,200 aged 18 years old and above, while the LFS has a respondent coverage of persons 15-years old and above in 51,000 households.

Historically, the SWS survey results on unemployment is higher than the results of the LFS.