The Labor Force Survey (LFS) is a nationwide survey conducted quarterly by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). For this particular release, the data being presented are based on the final results of the July 2016 LFS round in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in NCR decreases in July 2016                                            

For the entire country, the LFPR registered at 63.2 percent in July 2016 from 62.9 percent during the same period of the previous year. In NCR, the LFPR decreased to 62.8 percent in July 2016 from 63.5 percent during the same period in 2015.

Comparative labor force counts and LFPR for the Philippines and NCR for July 2015 and 2016 LFS rounds are shown below.

Employment Rate in NCR registers at 93.5 percent

The employment rate of the country in July 2016 reached 94.6 percent, higher by 1.1 percentage points from the same period of the previous year. In NCR, the employment rate was recorded at 93.5 percent in July 2016, or 1.7 percentage points increase from July 2015.

Comparative employment figures and employment rates for the July 2015 and July 2016 LFS results are shown below

The trend of employment rate in the country and NCR for the July 2015 and July 2016 LFS rounds are shown the figure below.

More than half of the employed persons in NCR are males

In the July 2016 LFS round, the country’s male population dominated the employed workforce. Of the 41.0 million employed persons, there were 61.3 percent employed males compared to 38.7 percent employed females. Meanwhile, of the 5.2 million employed persons in NCR, 56.4 percent were males. Refer to Table 1 for details of household population 15 years old and over by employment status and sex for the Philippines and NCR for the period July 2016.

Four in every five employed persons are in services sector in NCR

Of the 5.2 million employed persons in NCR in July 2016, about four out of five or 79.5 percent were employed in the services sector while 20.0 percent were employed in the industry sector. The remaining proportions were employed in the agriculture sector. Similar trends were observed in the July 2015 LFS round. Refer to Table 2 for details of the employed persons and major industry group in NCR for the period July 2015 and 2016.

Service and sales workers comprise the largest group of employment in NCR

In the July 2016 LFS round, service and sales workers comprised the largest group of employment in NCR at 21.5 percent. Managers formed the second largest group at 17.7 percent, while elementary occupations made up the third largest group at 16.3 percent. Refer to Table 3 for details of employed persons by sex and by major occupation group in NCR for July 2016.

NCR Unemployment Rate drops to 6.5 percent in July 2016

The unemployment rate in the country decreased to 5.4 percent in the July 2016 LFS round from the 6.5 percent of the same period of the previous year.

Similarly, NCR’s unemployment rate decreased to 6.5 percent from 8.2 percent for the same period of the previous year. Unemployment figures of the Philippines and NCR, which were based from the final estimates of the July 2015 and July 2016 LFS rounds, are shown below.

Underemployment rate in NCR decreases in July 2016

In the July 2016 LFS round, underemployment rate in NCR decreased to 9.1 percent from 9.8 percent in July 2015. This represents a drop of 0.7 percentage points. Comparative underemployment figures and underemployment rates for the July 2015 and July 2016 LFS results are shown below.

In NCR, more than three-fifths (66.0%) of the 0.5 million underemployed persons in July 2016 were males. Similar trend was noted in the sex distribution for underemployment both in the national level and NCR for the July 2015 and 2016 LFS rounds. Refer to Table 4 for details of underemployed persons by sex in Philippines and NCR for July 2015 and 2016.