SAN JOSE, Antique (PIA) -- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has urged the public to provide accurate information as it conducts the April 2024 Labor Force Survey (LFS) with rider questions on tourism and unpaid work.

The LFS is a nationwide survey of approximately 44,000 sample households intended to gather data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population, which can be used as a quantitative framework in preparing plans and formulating policies that affect the labor sector.

In Antique, 388 sample households will be visited by statistical researchers from the Antique Provincial Statistical Office for a computer-aided personal interview (CAPI) on April 8-30.

Some of the major data items being gathered during the LFS are employment, unemployment, underemployment, and labor force participation.

Based on the latest data, the country’s unemployment rate in February 2024 dropped to 3.5 percent from 4.5 percent in January 2024 and 4.8 percent in February last year.

On the other hand, the employment rate increased to 96.5 percent in February 2024 from 95.5 percent in January 2024 and 95.2 percent in February of the previous year.

Meanwhile, the ride question on tourism seeks to collect more information on tourism employment, such as employment in other tourism-related enterprises, tourism employment on a local level, and employment variables including sex, age, educational attainment, occupation, and employment status.

According to the PSA, tourism information is crucial since the tourism sector provides labor opportunities to Filipinos regardless of social grouping.

The rider question on unpaid work, conversely, aims to gather data on unpaid activities between men and women in households, which comprises unpaid care and domestic work and the actual number of minutes spent on these activities.

Unpaid care and domestic work have gained attention as a critical issue in achieving sustainable development as reflected in the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) No. 5 – “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”

With this, PSA Antique advises the public to expect statistical researchers for the conduct of the survey on labor, tourism, and unpaid work and encourages Antiqueños to support and take part in the said survey by providing truthful information.

The agency also assures the public that all data collected are strictly confidential as mandated by Section 26 of Republic Act (RA) 10625 or the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013. (AGP/BPS/PIA Antique)