The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) – La Union Provincial Statistical Office conducts the monthly Labor Force Survey (LFS) June 2024 round on 08 to 28 June 2024 in enumeration areas located in six city/municipalities in La Union.

For this survey round, PSA-La Union conducted a one-day briefing on 07 June 2024 to its two hired Statistical Researchers (SRs) to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their tasks effectively. The hired SRs will visit and interview about 99 sample households through the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) approach using tablets.

Meanwhile, the PSA released on 06 June 2024 the results from the April 2024 LFS.  Some of the highlights of the April 2024 LFS report in the country are as follows:

1. The unemployment rate in April 2024 was estimated at 4.0 percent. This was lower than the reported unemployment rate in April 2023 and January 2024, both at 4.5 percent.

In terms of magnitude, the number of unemployed individuals in April 2024 was registered at 2.04 million. This was lower than the estimated number of unemployed persons of 2.26 million in April 2023 and 2.15 million in January 2024.

2. The employment rate in the country increased to 96.0 percent in April 2024, from 95.5 percent in both April 2023 and January 2024.

In terms of level, the number of employed persons in April 2024 was estimated at 48.36 million. This was higher than the number of employed persons in April 2023 at 48.06 million and in January 2024 at 45.94 million.

3. The labor force participation rate (LFPR) in April 2024 was registered at 64.1 percent, lower than the estimated LFPR in April 2023 at 65.1 percent. In January 2024, the LFPR was estimated at 61.1 percent.

The reported LFPR in April 2024 translates to a total of 50.40 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and over who were in the labor force, or those who were either employed or unemployed. The number of individuals aged 15 years old and over who were in the labor force was 50.31 million in April 2023 and 48.09 million in January 2024.

4. On average, employed persons worked 40.5 hours per week. This was higher than the average hours worked in a week in April 2023 at 36.9 hours, but lower than the average hours worked in a week in January 2024 at 42.1 hours.

5. The underemployment rate in April 2024 increased to 14.6 percent, from 12.9 percent in April 2023 and 13.9 percent in January 2024.

In terms of magnitude, 7.04 million of the 48.36 million employed individuals expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work in April 2024.

The LFS is a nationwide survey of households conducted by the PSA to gather data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population. Specifically, the LFS is designed to collect information on the distribution of household population 15 years old and over, by employment status, by sex, and age group; distribution of employed persons by major occupation group, major industry group, class of worker, number of hours worked, highest grade completed, nature of employment, and by sex; distribution of underemployed persons by total hours worked, major occupation group, class of worker, and by sex; and distribution of unemployed persons by age group, highest grade completed, by number of weeks looking for work, job search method, and by sex.

The success of the June 2024 round of the LFS highly depends on the quality of the data that will be collected. Hence, PSA-La Union encourages the sample households to participate in the survey by providing truthful and complete data.

Pursuant to Section 19 of Republic Act (RA) No. 10173, known as the “Data Privacy Act,” all information gathered in this survey will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Section 26 of RA No. 10625 also stipulates that “individual data furnished by a respondent to statistical inquiries, surveys, and censuses conducted by the PSA shall be considered privilege communication and as such shall be inadmissible as evidence in any proceeding.”

SGD. DANITES E. TEÑIDO, PhD
Chief Statistical Specialist
La Union Provincial Statistical Office

/RBP