15 January 2024  ̶ KALIBO, AKLAN. The Philippine Statistics Authority continues to conduct the Labor Force Survey in Aklan to update the current employment data despite the hustle of the Ati-Atihan festival celebrated in various towns in the province.

Data from LFS provides information on labor market situations such as labor force participation, unemployment rates, hours worked, and the occupations of unemployed individuals that are invaluable for government planners and policymakers in developing programs that enhance employment opportunities and economic growth.

According to PSA-Aklan head Engr. Antonet Catubuan, there are about 389 households spread across 24 barangays that were selected to serve as respondents for the survey.

“Every information that this sample provides to our data collectors are essential to generate labor market statistics that would gauge our government in making evidenced-based plans and programs,” Engr. Catubuan said.

To achieve a higher percentage of responses, the PSA is urging all households to be visited by the data collectors to be truthful and accurate in giving answers during interview.

Six (6) data collectors were commissioned by PSA-Aklan to conduct the house to house visit to identified samples and administer the survey questionnaire.

Among the data that will be collected from the households comprised type of occupation of household members, kind of industry where they worked, number of hours work, class of worker, nature of employment, mode of payment, reason for working more than 48 hours. 

Likewise, the information whether a person has a functional difficulty or not is being collected as it also relates to work productivity of a person. 

“All this information is critical indicators for the generation of labor statistics profile of the population across domains and socio-economic groups,” Engr. Catubuan said.

The 2024 Labor Force Survey (LFS) results revealed that Western Visayas' labor force participation rate (LFPR) or the proportion of the population 15 years old and over who contributed to the production of goods and service in the region rose to 63.7% in the fourth quarter, up from 60.5% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the employment rate increased slightly from 95.1% to 95.9% from the previous period.

PSA assures all respondents that information collected in this survey will be kept strictly confidential as provided for by law. 

ANTONET B. CATUBUAN
Chief Statistical Specialist