PSA gears up for labor force, overseas Filipinos surveys

THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)- Guimaras is now ready to conduct the 2019 October round Labor Force Survey (LFS) and Survey on Overseas Filipinos (SOF) with rider questions on Domestic Workers (DW) in 192 Enumeration Areas (EAs) starting October 08, 2019.

The EAs are in the barangays of Agsanayan, Bacjao, Nazaret and Rizal in Buenavista with 70 households; Poblacion in Jordan with 18 sample households; Dolores, Poblacion, Lanipe, Lapaz, Salvacion and San Antonio in Nueva Valencia with 90 sample households and; Sabang in Sibunag with 14 sample households.

The survey aims to gather information on demographic and socio-economic characteristics of population in which the information gathered from this survey will guide the policy makers and government planners in crafting plans and programs of the government.

Likewise, the survey on Overseas Filipinos seeks to gather information on Filipino citizens who worked abroad during the last five years.

The October rounds LFS and SOF also contains a rider module on domestic workers (DW) which shall cover all households with live-in DWs to generate information on the employment and working conditions of the workers. The rider focuses on indicators necessary for the setting of minimum wages in the absence of a comprehensive data on employment and working conditions of domestic workers.

The DW data will give the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board basis for the review and setting of adjusted minimum wage of domestic workers one year after the implementation of Republic Act 10361 (Kasambahay Law).

“The 2019 October round LFS is actually a nationwide quarterly survey for households to be conducted by the PSA to gather data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population and to provide evidence-based information for the formulation of policies and programs on the creation and generation of gainful employment and livelihood opportunities; reduction of unemployment and underemployment; and enhancement of the welfare of a working person,” explained Nelida B. Losare, Provincial Statistics Officer of PSA- Guimaras.

The survey will also help provide statistics on levels and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment in the province, be used for the projection of future human resources, compared with the future manpower requirements and lastly, will help identify employment and training needs.

Meanwhile, the 2019 SOF is a nationwide survey that seeks to gather information on Filipino citizens including overseas workers who left abroad during the last five years. Specifically, the SOF aims to obtain national estimates on the number of overseas Filipinos including overseas workers and their socio-economic characteristics and to provide estimates on the amount of cash and in-kind transfer received by the families and the mode of remittances.

“On SOF, only those family members who travelled outside the Philippines within the period 2014 to 2019 are included in the survey,” Losare said.