Seventy-two percent of the population 15 years old and over were in the labor force
In 2023, there were about 239,000 estimated population aged 15 years old and over. Of this number, around 172,000 individuals were in the labor force, resulting in a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 71.9 percent or 719 in every 1000 individuals aged 15 years and over were either employed or unemployed. This represents an increase of 9.0 percentage points compared to the LFPR recorded in 2022. (Table 1)

Davao Occidental recorded the highest LFPR in Davao Region
Among the provinces and Highly Urbanized City (HUC) in Davao Region, Davao Occidental recorded the highest LFPR at 71.9 percent while Davao del Norte posted the lowest at 61.3 percent. Figure 1)
 

Employment rate in Davao Occidental registered at 98.0 percent 
About 98.0 percent or about 169,000 of the working-age population who were economically active or those who belong to the labor force in Davao Occidental are employed in 2023. This is 0.1 percentage points lower compared to previous year 2022. (Figure 2)

Davao Occidental placed second along with Davao del Sur in terms of employment rate with 98.0 percent in Davao Region for the year 2023. Davao City posted the lowest employment rate at 95.9 percent, closely followed by Davao Oriental with 96.2 percent, Davao del Norte at 97.4 percent and Davao de Oro posted at 97.5 percent.

Underemployment rate posted at 5.6 percent
Underemployed persons are employed person who expressed their desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer hours of work. In year 2023, 5.6 percent of total employed person in Davao Occidental reported to be underemployed.The underemployment rate in the province posted a significant decrease of 19.4 percent to previous year 2022. (Figure 3)

Davao Occidental ranked fifth in terms of underemployment in the year 2023. While Davao Oriental got the highest underemployment rate at 10.8 percent followed by Davao del Norte at 8.8 percent, Davao del Sur at 6.2 percent, Davao City at 5.7 percent. On the other hand, Davao de Oro has the lowest underemployment rate at 3.4 percent.

Unemployment rate reaches 2.0 percent
Davao Occidental’s unemployment rate reaches 2.0 percent in 2023, which is equivalent to more than three thousand individuals aged 15 years and over that belongs to the labor force. This is 0.1 percent higher compared to 1.9 percent in 2022. (Figure 4)

The provinces of Davao Occidental and Davao del Sur posted the lowest unemployment rate in the Davao region with 2.0 percent, closely followed by Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte and Davao Oriental recorded at 2.5 percent, 2.6 percent and 3.8 percent respectively. Meanwhile, Davao City posted the highest unemployment rate with 4.1 percent for the year 2023. (Figure 4)

TECHNICAL NOTES

• The Labor Force Survey (LFS) is a nationwide survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to gather data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population.

• The concepts and definitions adopted for the LFS was based on the 1982 international standards which was agreed by the 13th International Conference on Labor Statisticians Resolution (ICLS) in measuring statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment, and underemployment.

• The reference period used in the survey is the past seven (7) days preceding the date of visit of the enumerator.

• The 2012 Philippine Standard Occupational Classification (PSOC) was adopted starting April 2016. The 1992 PSOC had been used prior to this round. Starting January 2019, the 2017 Philippine Standard Classification of Education (PSCED) was adopted. The categories for highest grade were also revised considering the K to 12 programs in education.

• Overseas Filipino Workers are not considered part of the labor force in the Philippines. Hence, in the LFS, data on economic characteristics of household members who are overseas workers are not collected. For the LFS reports, they are excluded in the estimation of the size of working population, that is, population aged 15 years and older, and in the estimation of the labor force.

APPROVED FOR RELEASE:

JESSIE A. MADULIN
Chief Statistical Specialist