EMPLOYMENT GROWTH in large Metro Manila enterprises eased to a one-year low as hiring dipped, according to a report by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Results from the PSA’s Labor Turnover Survey showed that the labor turnover rate — the difference between rates of accession and separation within firms — settled at 1.27% during the first three months of 2017.
This means that for every 1,000 persons employed, large firms in the National Capital Region (NCR) were hiring some 13 additional workers on a net basis during the first quarter.
The first quarter labor turnover result was lower than the 3.36% during the fourth quarter of 2016, and the lowest since the 0.96% during the first three months of last year.
The survey covered 13,099 enterprises in NCR with an estimated total work force of 2.43 million during the period.
The rate of accession — which represents hiring by employers to either replace former employees or expand their work force — stood at 8.79% in the first quarter, sliding from 11.14% in the previous three-month period.
The rate of separation — which covers termination and resignation — stood at 7.52%, also down from 7.79% in the previous survey period.
More people were hired in the first quarter as replacement for former employees, at 4.51%, compared to those who were employed because of business expansion, at 4.28%.
Employee-initiated separation or resignations stood at 4.68% while rate of employer-initiated separation or layoffs was 2.84%.
The industry sector employed more people than the others, at 2.84%, led by the mining and quarrying sub-sector where turnover rate was 14.88%. Accession far exceeded separation in this segment, with a hiring rate of 20.86%.
Manufacturing had a turnover rate of 3.89% with 8.02% accession rate and 4.13% separation rate.
Employment growth was also recorded in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector with a turnover rate of 2.50%. The accession rate in this sector stood at 6.01% while separation was at 3.50%.
Net job creation was the lowest in services at 0.94%, as the high accession rate of 8.86% was tempered by the also high separation rate of 7.92%. Employment gains were seen higher in the information and communication sub-sector, as well as in financial and insurance activities, at 2.78% and 2.43%, respectively.
In contrast, the administrative and support service sector was shedding jobs on a net basis, as its separation rate of 11.89% exceeded its accession rate of 11.78%.
In the same report, the PSA said there were 82,772 job vacancies in the NCR, with the service sector accounting for at least eight in every 10 unfilled positions. Industry sector vacancies accounted for 15%, while agriculture job vacancies were minimal. — Jochebed B. Gonzales
