The Labor Force Survey (LFS) is a nationwide survey conducted quarterly by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). For this particular release, the data presented are based on the final results of the April 2017 LFS round for the National Capital Region (NCR).

Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in NCR decreases in April 2017

For the entire country, the LFPR registered 61.4 percent in April 2017 from 63.5 percent during the same period of the previous year. In NCR, the LFPR decreased to 60.5 percent in April 2017 from 62.8 percent during the same period in 2016.

Comparative labor force counts and LFPR for the Philippines and NCR for April 2016 and April 2017 LFS rounds are shown below.

Employment Rate in NCR registers at 92.8 percent

The employment rate of the country reached 94.3 percent in April 2017, higher by 0.4 percentage point from the same period of the previous year. In NCR, the employment rate posted 92.8 percent in April 2017, or 0.1 percentage points increase from April 2016.

Comparative employment figures and employment rates for the April 2016 and April 2017 LFS results are shown below.

The trend of employment rate in the country and NCR from April 2016 to April 2017 LFS rounds is shown in the figure below.

More than half of the employed persons in NCR are males

The country’s male population dominated the employed workforce in the April 2017 LFS round. Of the 40.3 million employed persons, males accounted for 62.3 percent compared to 37.7 percent females. Meanwhile, of the 5.1 million employed persons in NCR, 58.5 percent were males. Refer to Table 1 for details of household population 15 years old and over by employment status and by sex for the Philippines and NCR for the period April 2016 and April 2017.

Services sector employs more than three quarters of the total workforce in NCR

More than three quarters (80.0%) of the 5.1 million employed persons in NCR were employed in the services sector while 19.6 percent were engaged in the industry sector in April 2017. The remaining proportion was employed in the agriculture sector. Similar structure was observed in the April 2016 LFS round. Refer to Table 2 for details of the employed persons by sex and by major industry groups in NCR for the period April 2016 and April 2017.

Service and sales workers comprise the largest group in NCR

In the April 2017 LFS round, service and sales workers comprised the largest group of employment in the country at 20.4 percent. Elementary occupations formed the second largest group at 18.4 percent, while managers made up the third largest group at 17.1 percent. Refer to Table 3 for details of employed persons by sex and by major occupation group in NCR for April 2017.

NCR Unemployment rate decreases to 7.2 percent in April 2017

The unemployment rate in the country decreased to 5.7 percent in the April 2017 LFS round from the 6.1 percent of the same month of the previous year. Similarly, NCR unemployment rate decreased to 7.2 percent from 7.3 percent in the same period of the previous year. Unemployment figures of the Philippines and NCR based from the final estimates of the April 2016 and April 2017 LFS rounds are shown below.

Underemployment rate in NCR increases in April 2017

In the April 2017 LFS round, in NCR underemployment rate increased to 9.4 percent from 8.6 percent in April 2016. This represents a rise of 0.8 percentage point. Comparative underemployment figures and underemployment rates for the April 2016 and April 2017 LFS rounds are shown below.

Almost two-thirds (70.6%) of the 0.6 million underemployed persons in NCR were males in April 2017. Similar share was noted in the sex distribution for underemployment both at the national and region level for the April 2017. Refer to Table 4 for details of underemployed persons by sex in Philippines and NCR for the period April 2016 and April 2017.