The January Round of the 2016 Labor Force Survey (LFS) released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the national employment rate is 94.2%.

While the three key regions, namely, Central Luzon (92.5%), CALABARZON (92.5%), and National Capital Region (NCR) (93.1%) had employment rates lower than the national figure, other regions posted higher employment rates: Cagayan Valley (97%), MIMAROPA (95.9%), Cordillera Administrative Region (95.7%), and Eastern Visayas (95.3%).

Particularly interesting is Eastern Visayas where unemployment rate declined from 5.6 percent in 2014 to 5.3 in 2015, indicating signs of economic recovery after the destructive 2013 typhoon Yolanda. DOLE Assistant Regional Director Exequiel Ronie Guzman said that bigger spending for reconstruction projects has created more job opportunities in the region, especially for retail and services establishments, which comprise 98 percent of the total number of businesses in the region.

Generally, the PSA survey revealed that workers in the services sector comprised the largest proportion of the population who are employed.  These workers made up 56.3 percent of the total employed in January 2016. Among them are those engaged in wholesale and retail trade or in the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, which accounted for the largest percentage (33.5%) of workers in the services sector.

The Institute for Labor Studies releases the highlights of the LFS to present an in-depth analysis of the data survey of the PSA.