PRESS RELEASE

NYPM 010-2009

17 MARCH 2009

Planning Secretary Ralph Recto, who is also director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said the NSO report shows the country's employment rate at 92.3 percent, "which is not significantly different from the 92.6 percent reported last year."

Of the estimated 34.3 million employed persons in January 2009, more than one-half (51.2%) worked in the services sector, with those employed in wholesale/retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods sub-sector comprising the largest sub-sector at 19.4% of the total number employed.

Workers in the agriculture sector accounted for 34.6 percent of the total employed, with those engaged in the agriculture, hunting and forestry sub-sector making up the largest sub-sector (30.5% of the total employed).

Only 14.2 percent of the total employed were in the industry sector, with the manufacturing sub-sector making up the largest percentage (8.3% of the total employed).

Among the various occupation groups, laborers and unskilled workers are registered as the largest group at 31.9 percent of the total employed persons in January 2009. Farmers, forestry workers and fishermen were the second largest group, accounting for 17.3 percent of the total employed.

Recto said the unemployment rate in January 2009 was estimated at 7.7 percent, compared to 7.4 percent posted in January last year. Among the regions, the highest unemployment rate was recorded in the NCR at 14.0 percent.

"The NSO report's backdrop was the global recession, yet we fared better than the others," Recto pointed out. (IMO-PND)

Reference:

ELMER G. CATO 
Second Secretary & Press Officer 
Philippine Mission to the United Nations 
556 Fifth Avenue, Fifth Floor 
New York, New York 10036 
Tel. No. 212.764.1300 Extension 38