Lies and Realities in Labor Force Surveys

Media reportage of the latest labor force survey released on Sept. 16 only cited employment data and did not analyze the methodology behind the computation of the figures. At this point, it is important to scrutinize not just the government's standards of work and employment but also give a "human face" to the country's employment situation.

By DANILO ARAŅA ARAO
Bulatlat.com

Mang Fred, 47, works for only one hour a week as a mechanic in a nearby vulcanizing shop. His wife Anita, 45, engages in home gardening to raise vegetables for household needs. His daughter Kate, 18, substitutes for Rudy, 20, a sickly older brother from time to time in selling newspapers.

Using government standards, Mang Fred, Anita, Kate and Rudy are part of the 30.1-million employed people as of July 2002.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) released last Sept. 16 the preliminary results of its July 2002 labor force survey which claims, among others, an increase in employed persons "by 2.8 percent to 30.1 million from 29.3 million recorded in July last year (2001)."

The survey also notes a slight increase in unemployed persons, from 3.3 million during the same period last year to 3.8 million in July 2002. (See Table)

Questionable terms of employment

For the government, a person like Mang Fred who works for one hour during the reference period is considered employed, even if he or she does not get paid "on the farm or business enterprise operated by a member of the same household related by blood, marriage or adoption" as in the case of Kate.

According to the technical notes on the labor force made available by NSO, the reference period is the "'past week' referring to the past seven days days preceeding (sic) the date of visit of the enumerator or interviewer."

For those in Rudy's situation, the government considers employed a person who has a job but is not at work because of temporary illness/injury, vacation or other reasons. The same is true for a person who is not at work but is expected to have one "within two weeks."

The likes of Anita who only stays at home and does backyard farming are also technically employed, since government also defines as work "minor activities in home gardening, raising of crops, fruits, hogs, poultry, etc., fishing for home consumption and manufacturing for own use."

The government only counts, however, those who have done "some harvest in the case of home gardening, raising of crops, fruits and nuts and gathering of wild fruits and vegetables; animals disposed of (sold, consumed, bartered or given away) or some catch in fishing in order that these activities will be considered work."

Such standards show no distinction between regular and temporary employment. It also becomes hard to ascertain the number of employed people who actually get paid for services rendered.

These definitions of work and employment must be kept in mind in analyzing the breakdown of employed people as claimed by government.

Based on the July 2002 labor force survey, only 14.9 million people are classified as wage and salary workers, comprising 49% of the total employed. Those who are own-account and unpaid family workers comprise about 51% of total employed, with 15.2 million people.

Own-account workers are either those who become self-employed out of personal choice or those who are forced to fend for themselves or scrounge for a living due because jobs are simply unavailable. On the other hand, an unpaid family worker assists a member of a family in fulfilling the latter's job even if he or she does not get any compensation.

Analyzing unemployment data

Despite such misrepresentations of reality, it is still worth noting that the 3.8 million unemployed people are mainly those who are in the ages 15 to 24. The latest data show that this age group accounts for 48% of the total. (See Table)

Those within this age bracket are supposed to be given priority in getting jobs since they are mostly fresh graduates and are considered to be in their most productive years.

The high underemployment rate of 17.1% must also be taken into account. As of July 2002, this means that there are 5.2 million underemployed people.

Government defines underemployment as employed persons "who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or an additional job, or to have a new job with longer working hours."

The visibly underemployed who currently number 3.3 million are employed people working for less than 40 hours and want additional hours of work. On the other hand, invisibly underemployed are those who work for more than 40 hours but are dissatisfied with their current occupation.

Despite the limitations of the labor force data, the high underemployment rate is a concrete indication of the extent of job dissatisfaction among Filipinos.

Questionable statistics

When confronted with the government's standards of work and employment, Mang Fred only shrugs his shoulders. "This only means that government is fooling the people which is nothing new."

He could not care less if he is considered employed, underemployed or unemployed since his lack of a regular source of income makes it hard for him to provide for the needs of his family. "For me, having a regular job and just wages are more important and the government has not been able to help me."

His wife Anita, meanwhile, expresses surprise, disbelief and amusement. "How can I be employed when all I do is backyard farming and I don't even get paid for it?" She even advises Bulatlat.com to recheck the NSO's technical notes since she finds the standards very hard to believe.

Both Kate and Fred politely refuse to be interviewed since they have better things to do. The sun is already up, and the former needs to get the day's newspapers from the distributor, while the latter needs to be alone to rest. Bulatlat.com

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