MORE LAYOFFS THAN RESIGNATIONS IN H2

DESPITE the gradual improvement of the economy after growth plungedin the second quarter last year, there were still more workers who were laid off compared to those who resigned in the second half of 2020, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The Labor Turnover Survey (LTS) results in the National Capital Region (NCR) in the third and fourth quarters of 2020 showed, PSA said, that for every 1,000 employed persons, 79 workers were laid off and 52 workers voluntarily quit their jobs in the second half of last year.

PSA said the LTS rate was at 0.1 percent in the third quarter, implying that for every 1,000 workers, one was added to the work force. However, the gain was short-lived since the fourth quarter saw the LTS rate contract 0.3 percent.

“For the last quarter of the reference year, labor turnover [declined] 0.3 percent which indicates a reduction of three workers for every 1,000 persons employed in the total work force,” PSA said.

Further, the accession rate for the third quarter of 2020 was registered at 8 percent while it was at 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020.

This meant that for every 1,000 employed, only 80 workers in the 3rd quarter, and 48 workers in the 4th quarter, were hired due to either expansion of business or replacement of separated workers.

Services sector

MEANWHILE, the LTS data showed among the three economic sectors, only services recorded an employment gain at 1.9 percent during the third quarter of 2020.

The main contributors to this gain were human health and social work

activities at 10.3 percent; information and communication, 7.7 percent; administrative and support services activities, 5.2 percent; and transportation and storage industries, 1.3 percent.

Meanwhile, a decline of 0.2 percent was also recorded in the said sector during the fourth quarter, of which the arts, entertainment and recreation industry was greatly affected, with an employment loss of 5.9 percent.

The data also showed that in the third quarter of 2020, agriculture, forestry,

and fishing neither gained nor lost as accession equaled separation rates.

PSA said, however, that there was an 8.3-percent contraction in employment reduction in the last quarter of the reference year.

The data also showed that the industry sector posted contractions in the second half of 2020—at 6.1 percent in the third quarter and 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

Specifically, for both quarters, PSA said construction posted employment

losses of 15.5 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

The LTS aims to come up with timely information on labor market trends in the formal sector of the economy. The items of inquiry have been limited to employment, labor turnover, and existing job vacancies.

This information provides the government and the private sector a complete picture of labor demand and job turnover as inputs to decision-making and policy formulation. Cai U. Ordinario