HIGHER numbers of workers being separated or resigning in agriculture, real estate and manufacturing caused labor turnover rates in Metro Manila to slow in the last quarter of 2017, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Data from the Labor Turnover Survey (LTS) showed Metro Manila’s labor turnover was at 1.38 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, from 3.36 percent in the same period in 2016.
The PSA explained Labor Turnover as referring to changes in the employment of an enterprise during a reference period resulting from accessions (hiring to replace resignations or hiring to expand) and separations of workers.
“On a year-on-year basis, this figure represents a setback in employment growth, from the 3.36-percent rate posted in the same period in 2016. This can be attributed to the declines in labor turnover rate registered in agriculture, forestry and fishing sector since the third quarter of 2017,” the PSA said.
Data showed the labor turnover in agriculture contracted 4.61 percent; real estate, 0.59 percent; manufacturing, 0.47 percent; and electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, 0.35 percent.
Separations, which refer to terminations and resignations, were higher in these sectors compared to accessions, which refer to expansion and replacement of employees.
Separations in agriculture, forestry and fishing was at 6.48 percent; real estate, 4.99 percent; manufacturing, 5.3 percent; and electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, 1.92 percent.
Accessions in agriculture, forestry and fishing was only at 1.87 percent; real estate, 4.39 percent; manufacturing, 4.83 percent; and electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply, 1.57 percent.
Meanwhile, PSA data showed that in terms of separations, these were mostly employee-initiated.
Employee-initiated separations or quits stood at 4.12 percent, while only 2.77 percent were due to lay-offs and terminations by the employers.
However, among the sectors that saw contractions in labor turnover, higher termination rates as compared to quits were reported.
In agriculture, forestry and fishing, termination was at 5.39 percent compared to quits, 1.09 percent; in industry sectors, 3.23 percent terminations versus 3.03 percent quits. The largest difference was registered in mining and quarrying, 10.85 percent termination versus 2.01 percent quits.
The LTS is a quarterly sample survey of enterprises conducted by the PSA since the third quarter of 2002.
The survey aims to capture “job creations” and “job displacements” in business enterprises based in Metro Manila by collecting quarterly data on accessions and separations of workers.
A total of 1,372 enterprises served as respondents to the LFS of the fourth quarter of 2017.
The sample enterprises were drawn from the 2016 List of Enterprises. The retrieval rate for this quarter was placed at 98.8 percent.