Consistent with the steady growth of the economy, the July 2018 round of LFS showed modest increase in employment rate to 94.6%, with the number of employed persons registering a 1.2% growth from the same period in 2017. However, underemployment remains a concern, as it further increased to 17.2% (national) and 18.6% (in areas outside NCR or AONCR) in July 2018; rise in underemployment for the period has been driven by full-time workers who still want additional hours of work. The high percentage share of inactive youth remains a concern. Nevertheless, the 20.1% year-to-date share of young people that are neither in education nor employment (NEE) average is still within the 19.5-21.5% Philippine Development Plan (PDP) target for 2018.

Read more: July 2018 Labor Force Survey (LFS) Results

Overall, the results of the April 2018 LFS round show a positive labor market outlook in terms of employment generation. Improvements were observed in the female labor force participation rate (LFPR) (from 46.2% in April 2017 to 46.5% in April 2018), indicating available opportunities for women in the domestic labor market. At the same time, employment expanded by 1.6% with a positive net employment generation at 1.6 million, relative to April 2017.

Read more: April 2018 Labor Force Survey (LFS) Results

The results of the January 2018 LFS round indicated a vibrant labor market in terms of employment generation. Labor force participation rate (LFPR) rose to 62.2 percent in January 2018 from 60.7 percent in January 2017. Improvements were observed in female LFPR, indicating more opportunities for women in the domestic labor market. At the same time, employment expanded by 6.1 percent (41.8 million) with an estimated 2.4 million net employment generation, relative to January 2017. This was bolstered by employment gains in the services (3.8% or 847,000 jobs) and industry sectors (10.5% or 719,000 jobs).

Read more: January 2018 Labor Force Survey (LFS) Results