Jan 14, 2012
Gender Statistics on Labor and Employment: Women’s Employment
As the global crisis worsens, women’s employment and livelihood security are getting hit hard. Women workers in the Export Processing Zones are a case in point. Moreover, according to the ILO Global Employment Trends for Women 2009 Report, “Women are also often in a disadvantaged position in terms of the share of vulnerable employment (i.e. unpaid family workers and own-account workers) in total employment. These workers are most likely to be characterized by insecure employment, low earnings and low productivity.”
In the Philippines, of the 12.8 million women recorded as employed in 2006, 4.2 million are own account workers and 2.2 million are unpaid family workers. Most women are employed in wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, manufacturing and private households. The tables below summarize gender employment statistics released in 2008, giving a broad snapshot of women’s employment in the country. With the Philippines’ jobs crisis exacerbated by the global slump, several reports and analyses are expecting conditions to deteriorate, in the formal and informal sectors, as well as the productive and reproductive spheres.
Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) (in percent)
| Year | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005* (January) | 2006 | 2007 | |
| LFPR | 65.9 | 66.4 | 64.9 | 67.1 | 67.4 | 66.7 | 67.5 | 66.1 | 64.2 | 64 | |
| LFPR WOMEN | 49.1 | 50.1 | 48.5 | 51.8 | 52.8 | 51.4 | 51.2 | 49.5 | 49.3 | 49.3 | |
| LFPR MEN | 83.2 | 82.9 | 81.4 | 82.4 | 82 | 82.2 | 83.8 | 82.8 | 79.3 | 78.8 |
Employment by Industry 2007 (In Thousands)
| MEN | WOMEN | ||
| All Industries |
20,542 |
13,018 |
|
|
|
|
||
| Agriculture, Hunting and Forestry |
7,437 |
2,905 |
|
| Fishing |
1,327 |
117 |
|
| Mining and Quarrying |
135 |
14 |
|
| Manufacturing |
1,684 |
1375 |
|
| Electricity, Gas and Water Supply |
112 |
23 |
|
| Construction |
1,742 |
36 |
|
| Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor | |||
| Vehicles, Motorcycles and Personal and | |||
| Household Goods |
2,526 |
3828 |
|
| Hotels and Restaurants |
409 |
498 |
|
| Transport, Storage and Communications |
2,428 |
170 |
|
| Financial Intermediation |
156 |
203 |
|
| Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities |
578 |
307 |
|
| Public Administration and Defense; | |||
| Compulsory Social Security |
950 |
601 |
|
| Education |
259 |
776 |
|
| Health and Social Work |
101 |
272 |
|
| Other Community, Social and Personal | |||
| Service Activities |
435 |
415 |
|
| Private Households with Employed Persons |
262 |
1478 |
|
| Extra-Territorial Organizations and Bodies |
2 |
1 |
|
Employment by Class of Worker
| Year | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
| EMPLOYED PERSONS | 32.96 Million | 32.3 Million | 31.6 Million | 30.6 Million | 30.1 Million |
| Wage and Salary Workers | 16.79 Million | 16.3 Million | 16.47 Million | 15.35 Million | 14.65 Million |
| Own-Account Workers | 12.13 Million | 12.10 Million | 11.6 Million | 11.5 Million | 11.39 Million |
| Unpaid Family Workers | 4.037 Million | 3.89 Million | 3.5 Million | 3.7 Million | 4.0 Million |
| EMPLOYED WOMEN | 12.8 Million | 12.4 Million | 11.96 Million | 11.76 Million | 11.75 Million |
| Wage and Salary Workers | 6.4 Million | 6.2 Million | 6.1 Million | 5.8 Million | 5.6 Million |
| Own-account Workers | 4.2 Million | 4.04 Million | 3.9 Million | 3.9 Million | 3.9 Million |
| Self-Employed | 3.84 Million | 3.73 Million | 3.62 Million | 3.61 Million | 3.64 Million |
| Employer | 322,000 | 316,000 | 313,000 | 318,000 | 324,000 |
| Unpaid Family Workers | 2.2 Million | 2.17 Million | 1.9 Million | 2.0 Million | 2.15 Million |
Underemployed Women
| 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Number of Underemployed Women | 1.769 Million | 1.833 Million | 1.824 Million | 1.455 Million | 1.5 Million | 1.53 Million | 1.617 Million | 2.082 Million | 2.280 Million | 2.058 Million |
| Women’s Underemployment Rate | 17.8 | 17.5 | 17.8 | 13 | 12.8 | 13 | 13.5 | 16.8 | 18.1 | 15.8 |
Notes: 1. Details may not add up to totals due to rounding
2. Labor force is the sum of all the employed and unemployed persons
3. Labor force participation rate is the ratio of the total labor force to the total household population 15 years old and over multiplied by 100
a *The NSO adopted the new (ILO) definition of unemployment in the LFS questionnaire starting with the April 2005 survey round. As the data for January 2005 were based on the old definition of unemployment, averages for 2005 cannot be computed for the four survey rounds (January, April, July and October). Due to the change in methodology, labor force data series for 2005 and onwards are not comparable with the old.
r Revised. Starting with the January 2007 Labor Force Survey Round, the population projection based on the 2000 Census of Population was adopted to generate labor force statistics per NSCB Resolution No. 1 series of 2005. For 2006 data, recalculation of employment indicators was done using the population projections based on the 2000 Census of Population. Thus, starting 2006, LFS data series are not comparable with previous years.
SOURCE: 2008 GENDER STATISTICS ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
(Published in: Focus on the Philippines March 2009, http://focusweb.org/oldphilippines/content/view/263/52/)