The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) - La Union Provincial Statistical Office conducts the quarterly Labor Force Survey (LFS) July 2024 round and its rider survey, the 2024 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS), from 08 to 31 July 2024 in enumeration areas located in 14 city/municipalities in La Union.

PSA-La Union hired five Statistical Researchers (SRs) and one Team Supervisor (TS) to visit and interview a total of 365 sample households through the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) approach using tablets in coordination with the sample Local Government Units (LGUs).

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. On the other hand, the APIS is an annual household survey (except in years when the Family Income and Expenditure Survey is conducted) that can be used to generate non-income-related poverty indicators for monitoring the poverty situation in the country. It also serves as one of the basis for the policies and program formulation to improve the living conditions of the population. Moreover, data from July 2024 LFS and 2024 APIS will be used to monitor selected indicators for Sustainable Development Goals.

Meanwhile, the PSA released on 08 July 2024 the results from the May 2024 LFS.  Some of the highlights of the May 2024 LFS report in the country are as follows:

1. The country’s employment rate in May 2024 was estimated at 95.9 percent, higher than the estimated employment rate in May 2023 at 95.7 percent. In April 2024, the employment rate was posted at 96.0 percent.

In terms of magnitude, the number of employed individuals in May 2024 was registered at 48.87 million. This was higher than the estimated 48.26 million employed persons in May 2023 and 48.36 million in April 2024. 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.

2. In May 2024, the unemployment rate decreased to 4.1 percent, from 4.3 percent in the same month last year. In April 2024, the unemployment rate was registered at 4.0 percent.

In terms of level, the number of unemployed persons in May 2024 was estimated at 2.11 million. This was lower than the number of unemployed persons in May 2023 at 2.17 million, but higher than the number of unemployed persons in April 2024 at 2.04 million. 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.

3. The underemployment rate in May 2024 decreased to 9.9 percent, from 11.7 percent in May 2023 and 14.6 percent in April 2024. In terms of magnitude, 4.82 million of the 48.87 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 May 2024.

4. The labor force participation rate (LFPR) in May 2024 was registered at 64.8 percent, lower than the estimated LFPR in May 2023 at 65.3 percent. In April 2024, the LFPR was estimated at 64.1 percent.

The reported LFPR in May 2024 translates to a total of 50.97 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and over who were in the labor force, or those who were either employed or unemployed. In May 2023, the number of individuals aged 15 years old and over who were in the labor force was 50.43 million, and 50.40 million in April 2024.

The success of the July 2024 LFS and 2024 APIS 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/MBL