EV registers second highest underemployment rate in the country at 27.2% in July 2018

By PSA-8
September 20, 2018

TACLOBAN CITY – Eastern Visayas registered the second highest underemployment rate in the country at 27.2% in July 2018. This translates to an estimated 506 thousand underemployed persons or those employed persons aged 15 years old and over who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present jobs; or to have additional job; or to have a new job with longer working hours. This figure is 5.3 percentage points higher compared with the 21.9% underemployment rate registered in July 2017. Bicol Region posted the highest underemployment rate in the Philippines at 28.0 percent (Table 1).

Out of the estimated 3.2 million population 15 years old and over in July 2018, about 2.0 million were economically active or in the labor force. This number translates to a Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of 61.8%. This figure is 1.1 percentage points higher compared with the 60.7% LFPR in the same period a year ago. Among the regions, Eastern Visayas recorded the sixth highest LFPR.

The Employment Rate (ER) in Eastern Visayas in July 2018 was estimated at 95.3%, ranking sixth among the regions with high employment rates in the country. This figure is slightly lower than the 96.0% ER recorded in July 2017. Employment rate is the proportion of employed persons to total labor force.

Meanwhile, about 92 thousand persons in the labor force were unemployed. This translates to an unemployment rate of 4.7%, slightly higher than the 4.0% unemployment rate recorded in the same period of 2017. Considered unemployed persons are persons in the labor force who are reported as without work; and currently available for work; and seeking work or not seeking work due to the following reasons: a) belief that no work is available, or b) awaiting results of previous job application, or c) because of temporary illness or disability, or d) weather, or e) waiting for rehire or job call.

Data were based on the preliminary estimates released by the Philippine Statistics Authority from the Labor Force Survey (LFS) conducted in July 2018.