Jan 25, 2012
Poverty in the Philippines: Industry Groups of the Poor
(Note: This piece is a segment from a larger article “Poverty in the Philippines: A Profile”, showcased in Focus-Philippines’ upcoming Poverty Policy Review)
Major Industry Group of Family Head across Income Strata, 2009
| Industry Group |
Under P 40,000 |
40,000 – 59,999 |
60,000 – 99, 999 |
|||
| Families Reporting (in ‘000) | Share of Total (%) | Families Reporting | Share of Total (%) | Families Reporting | Share of Total (%) | |
| Philippines in General | 575 | 3.7 of Pop | 1371 | 9.1 of Pop | 3594 | 23.7 of Pop |
| Agriculture and Forestry | 427 | 74 | 894 | 65 | 1820 | 50.6 |
| Fishing | 22 | 3.8 | 90 | 6.5 | 316 | 8.8 |
| Mining and Quarrying | 1 | 0.2 | 11 | 0.8 | 32 | 0.9 |
| Manufacturing | 28 | 4.8 | 61 | 4.4 | 173 | 4.8 |
| Electricity, Gas and Water | – | – | 1 | 0.007 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Construction | 10 | 1.7 | 50 | 3.6 | 294 | 8.2 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of vehicles and personal and household goods | 40 | 7.0 | 102 | 7.4 | 329 | 9.1 |
| Hotels and Restaurants | 10 | 1.7 | 6 | 0.4 | 23 | 0.6 |
| Transport Storage and Communications | 10 | 1.7 | 50 | 3.6 | 302 | 8.4 |
| Financial Intermediation | * | * | * | * | 3 | 0.008 |
| Real Estate renting and Business activities | 1 | 0.2 | 9 | 0.07 | 23 | 0.6 |
| Public Administration and Defense | 9 | 1.5 | 32 | 2.3 | 105 | 2.9 |
| Education | 1 | 0.2 | 1 | 0.007 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Health and Social Work | * | * | 2 | 0.015 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Other community social and personal service activities | 11 | 1.9 | 21 | 1.5 | 69 | 1.9 |
| Private Household with Employed Persons | 13 | 2.3 | 40 | 2.9 | 88 | 2.4 |
Source: National Statistics Office, FIES (2009)
* – refers to negligible value
The poor, it seems, overwhelmingly conduct their livelihoods in the basic sectors. Looking at where family heads are employed, 74% of families with incomes below P40,000 work in the domain of agriculture and forestry. The industry group which next comes closest to this seems to be that of wholesale and retail trade, and the repair of vehicles and personal and household goods (7.0%).
As an indication of how central basic resource industry groups are to the livelihoods to the lowest income bracket compared to those other strata, it is instructive to look at how much the share of their employment in agriculture and forestry varies. For families with incomes of P40,000-P59,999, the corresponding figure declines from 74% to 65%; for families with incomes of P60,000-P99,999, the number is even smaller— 50.6%. Wholesale and retail trade, and repair services are still prominent at 7.4% and 9.1% respectively, though other industry sectors become increasingly prominent, such as construction, transport services, and fishing/aquaculture.