ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/20 March) – The National Statistics Office (NSO) announced that three regions in Mindanao have registered high employment rates in January of this year.
The Mindanao regions that earned high marks in the NSO’s labor force survey for January are the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), 97 percent; Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula), 96.6 percent; and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN or Southwestern Mindanao), 96 percent.
Nationwide, Cagayan Valley registered the highest figure at 97.
6 percent.
ARMM followed second while Zamboanga Peninsula is tied with Region IVB (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan or MIMAROPA). SOCCSKSARGEN is at the fifth spot.
The NSO’s labor force survey for the month of January registered an employment rate of 92.
8 percent nationwide, which is slightly higher compared to the same period last year at 92.6 percent.
The NSO survey showed that an estimated of 40.3 million out of the estimated 62.7 million population 15 years old and over are in the labor force. This figure, according to the NSO, translates to a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 64.
3 percent, which is higher compared to the LFPR in January 2011 that registered at 63.7 percent.
Among the regions, MIMAROPA registered the highest labor force participation rate at 70.4 percent; ARMM garnered the lowest at 57.8 percent.
The number of employed persons in January this year was estimated at 37.4 million.
The services sector comprised the largest group, making up more than half, or 52.7 percent, of the total employed persons. (MindaNews)
