CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) – Northern Mindanao’s labor force went up by 4.2 percent in July, 2012, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The results of the July, 2012, Labor Force Survey (LFS) showed that the region’s labor force grew from 2.018 million in July, 2011, to 2.102 million in July, 2012, said Engineer Cecilio Clarete, chief economic and development specialist of the NEDA in the region.
In terms of employment level, he said the region posted improvement breaching the two-million mark during the reference period.
The July, 2012, round of the LFS estimated the number of employed persons in the region at 2.002 million, or at a rate of 95.3 percent, up by 0.4 percentage points from the 94.8 employment rate in the same period last year, he said.
This resulted to a 0.4 percentage point decline in the region’s unemployment rate, from 5.2 percent last year to 4.7 percent this year.
Underemployment rate also fell by 1.9 percentage points, from 22.3 percent to 20.3 percent.

Source: Manila Bulletin- December 29, 2012