The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) – La Union Provincial Statistical Office conducted the monthly Labor Force Survey (LFS) November 2023 round on 08 to 28 November in randomly selected sample households in La Union.

The monthly LFS aims to provide high frequency statistical information on the Philippine labor market to better monitor and understand the current job situation and economy in the Philippines, as well as the impact of the current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) health crisis. Results of the monthly LFS serve as bases for planning, formulation of policies, and implementing programs to create gainful employment and bolster livelihood opportunities for Filipinos, particularly those who were adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

For this survey round, PSA-La Union hired two Statistical Researchers (SRs), who visited a total of 97 sample households from six enumeration areas in the province through the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) approach using tablets.

Respondents are assured that all gathered information will be held with utmost confidentiality pursuant to Section 19 of Republic Act (RA) No. 10173, otherwise known as the Data Privacy Act and Section 26 of RA 10625, otherwise known as the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013.

Meanwhile, the PSA released on 08 November 2023 the results of LFS September 2023 round. Some of the highlights of the September 2023 LFS report in the country are as follows:

1. The country’s employment rate in September 2023 was estimated at 95.5 percent. This was higher than the recorded employment rate in September 2022 at 95.0 percent but was slightly lower than the 95.6 percent estimate in August 2023.

In terms of magnitude, the number of employed persons 15 years old and over was recorded at 47.67 million in September 2023 from 47.58 million in the same month last year. In August 2023, the number of employed persons was 48.07 million.

2. The number of underemployed persons was reported at 5.11 million out of the total 47.67 million employed individuals, translating to an underemployment rate of 10.7 percent in September 2023.

3. The labor force participation rate (LFPR) in September 2023 was posted at 64.1 percent, which was lower than the 65.2 percent LFPR in September 2022 and the 64.7 percent LFPR in August 2023.

4. The unemployment rate was posted at 4.5 percent in September 2023, which was lower compared with the 5.0 percent unemployment rate in the same month of the previous year, but slightly higher than the unemployment rate in August 2023 at 4.4 percent.

SGD. DANITES E. TEÑIDO, PhD
Chief Statistical Specialist

/RBP/MBL