Labor dep’t says LFS data on jobless is official, not SWS findings

November 12, 2018

The labor department said the official source of employment data is the Labor Force Survey and not the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

In a statement on Monday, the labor department said  SWS and LFS use different sample populations, age, reference period of the survey, and criteria to define the unemployed.

“The SWS surveys joblessness while the LFS counts the unemployed,” said the department.

“A job refers to the type of work that a person does, while employment refers to a person with a job,” it said.

Based on the September SWS survey, around 9.8 million Filipinos or 22 percent have no jobs, up from 8.9 million or 19.7 percent in June.

The July LFS data showed there are only around 2.3 million or 5.4 percent unemployed Filipinos.

The labor department said despite the SWS survey the employment situation is "stable."

Employment has been rising since 2010, growing an average of  2.1 percent annually as shown in the LFS.

“The number of employed persons exhibited a generally increasing trend since 2010 though the year-on-year growth was erratic,” said the department.

“The government is on the right track when it comes to enabling policies, such as the ease-of-doing business, implementation of the Build, Build, Build projects, among others,” it added.

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the P25 wage increase for Metro Manila minimum wage earners will take effect on November 22. DMS