LA UNION – For the first time, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) undertakes the the first of the two rounds of the 2021 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES 2021) on July 8 to 31, 2021 utilizing the Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) application using tablet as a method of data collection.

The FIES 2021 is a rider survey of the July 2021 Labor Force Survey (LFS), a nationwide quarterly survey of households conducted by the PSA to gather data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population.   The LFS aims to measure the current state of the country’s labor market and is used to calculate national and regional employment indicators to provide a quantitative framework for the preparation of plans and formulation of policies affecting the labor market.  

Meanwhile, the FIES 2021 is the nineteenth survey conducted from the time it started in 1957.  It is the main source of data on family income and expenditures in the Philippines and is conducted every three years.  It aims to gather data on family income, sources of income, family expenditure and related information affecting family income and expenditure levels and patterns in the Philippines; to determine the income distribution, levels of living and spending patterns, and the degree of inequality among families; to provide benchmark information to update the weights used in the estimation of Consumer Price Index (CPI); and to provide inputs in the estimation of the country’s poverty threshold and incidence.

The data that will be obtained from this survey shall be used to provide inputs in the estimation of the country’s poverty threshold and incidence and will be the basis of the Government for its social and economic development planning and decision-making.

The FIES 2021 is conducted in two separate operations, as a rider to the July 2021 LFS this year, and the January 2022 LFS of the following year. 

The first round in July 2021 gathers data for the period January 1 to June 30, 2021 while the second round in January 2022 will gather data for the period July 1 to December 31, 2021. The FIES 2021 adopts the 2020 Philippine Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (PCOICOP) in classifying the expenditure items of the family. 

The LFS gathers employment characteristics of the population based on a “past week” reference period while the FIES gathers data on the family’s income and expenditure on a semestral basis. The family members enumerated in the LFS will be the subjects of inquiry of the FIES. The same unique identification of the family/household will be used in both surveys.

Moreover, the July 2021 LFS and FIES 2021 has a national sample of approximately 180,000 housing units deemed sufficient to provide reliable estimates at the national, regional, provincial levels and selected Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs).  In La Union, a total of 1,592 randomly selected housing units will be visited by 51 hired Statistical Researchers (SRs) and five Team Supervisors (TS) who attended a six-day provincial level training on June 28 to July 3, 2021 at Hotel Ariana, Bauang, La Union in preparation for the conduct of said surveys.

The authority and mandate of the PSA to the July 2021 LFS and FIES 2021 emanate from Republic Act (RA) No. 10625 - creating and mandating the PSA to prepare and conduct statistical sample surveys on all aspects of socioeconomic life including agriculture, industry, trade, finance, prices and marketing information, income and expenditures, education, health, culture and social situations as well as the government and the political sector for the use of the government and the public.

The PSA assures the public that hired SRs and TS will adhere to health and safety protocols such as observance of social distancing, wearing of face mask/shield, and proper hygiene and sanitation at all phases of field operation. ###

SGD. DANITES E. TEÑIDO, Ph.D.
Chief Statistical Specialist

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