DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 2 Jan) – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) had the highest employment rate in 2018 among six regions in Mindanao, the preliminary results of the Annual Labor and Employment Estimates for 2018 of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
Workers at a shipyard in Tawi-tawi City. MindaNews file photo by BOBBY TIMONERA
The employment rate in ARMM, which is composed of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Lamitan and Tawi-Tawi, was recorded at 96.3% in 2018, slightly lower compared to 96.6% recorded in 2017.
The SOCCSKSARGEN registered an employment rate of 96.1%, Caraga with 96%, Zamboanga Peninsula and Northern Mindanao with 95.9%, and 95.7%, and Davao Region with 95.7%.
The annual employment rate in the Philippines was estimated at 94.7%, with Cagayan Valley being the highest at 97% and Ilocos Region, the lowest at 93.2%, according to PSA.
The unemployment rate in the country last year was estimated at 5.3% while the underemployment was 16.4%.
The PSA estimated the annual labor force participation rate was at 60.9% out of 71.3 million population 15 years old and above. This is equivalent to 43.5 million economically active population comprising either employed or unemployed persons.
A total of 41.2 million were employed in 2018 in various industries such as agriculture, industry, and services sector, the PSA reported.
It said workers employed in the services sector comprised the largest proportion of the total employed workers at 56.6% in 2018, which increased slightly from 56.3% recorded in 2017.
Majority of the workers in the services sector were engaged in the wholesale and retail trade and the repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles accounted the largest.
The agriculture sector came in the second highest, which accounted for 24.3% of the total employed workers in 2018 while workers in the industry sector made up the smallest, which only registered 19.1%. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
