The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is conducting the January 2019 Labor Force Survey (LFS) together with the second round of the 2018 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES Visit 2) starting 9 January 2019. For this round of the 2018 FIES, data on income and expenditures of families for the second semester covering the period 01 July to 31 December 2018 will be gathered.

LFS is a nationwide quarterly survey of households, designed to gather data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population. This survey aims to provide a quantitative framework for the preparation of plans and formulation of policies affecting the labor market. Specifically, LFS is designed to collect information on the distribution of household population 15 years old and over, distribution of employed persons, distribution of underemployed persons, and distribution of unemployed persons.

The 2018 FIES, meanwhile, is a nationwide survey that gathers data on the income distribution and levels of living and spending patterns of Filipino families across the country. This survey aims to provide inputs in the estimation of the country’s povertythreshold and incidence and will be the basis of the Government for its social and economic development planning and decision-making.

The data collected under the January 2019 LFS and 2018 FIES Visit 2 shall be covered by the confidentiality of information clause under Section 26 of RA 10625, which stipulates that individual data furnished by a respondent to statistical inquiries, surveys, and censuses of the PSA shall be considered privileged information and such shall be inadmissible as evidence in any proceeding.

The PSA requests the sample households to cooperate and provide truthful, complete and accurate information that will ultimately serve as a vital input in evidence-based planning and decision-making.