NSCB - Economic and Financial Data - Meta Data - Real Sector

Real Sector > Wages or Earnings
(Average Monthly Wage Rates in Selected Occupations)
Last certified: 08 September 2009
Last update: 08 September 2009

Contact Person

Ms. Teresa V. Peralta
Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics
Department of Labor and Employment (BLES-DOLE)
3/F DOLE Bldg., Gen. Luna, Intramuros, 1002, Manila, Philippines

Phone: 63 2 527 3489
Fax: 63 2 527 9325
E-mail: tvp@info.com.ph

Dissemination Formats

Hardcopy
( ) News release ( ) Weekly ( ) monthly
() quarterly bulletin (x) Other

Electronic
(x) On-line country bulletin board or database
() Diskette (x) CD ROM () Other

The Data: Coverage, Periodicity, and Timeliness
Coverage characteristics	Data are disseminated in Philippine pesos (levels) on the average monthly wage rates. The data covers time-rate workers on full-time basis in selected occupations specific to each of the selected non-agricultural industries. All establishments employing at least 20 workers are covered. At most 11 occupations are covered in each of the selected industries. This results to the monitoring of wage rates of 180 occupations in 46 industries. Wage rates are defined as including basic pay and regular/guaranteed cash allowances. Basic pay refers to pay for normal/regular working time before deductions for employees' social security contributions and withholding taxes. It excludes overtime, night shift differential and other premium pay; commissions, tips and share of employees in service charges; and payments in kind. Allowances include cost of living allowance but exclude reimbursements for travel, entertainment, meals and other expenses, etc. incurred in conducting the business of the employer; cost of uniform/working clothes; bonuses and gratuities; and family allowances. The concepts used to measure wage rates closely follow the ILO recommendations. The data are not seasonally adjusted.
Periodicity	Every two years (See notes.)
Timeliness	12 months after the reference date (See Notes.)
Access by the Public
Advance dissemination of release calendar	An advance release calendar that gives one-quarter-ahead notice of the approximate release date, and at least one-week ahead notice of the precise release date, is posted on the NSCB Internet website (http://www.nscb.gov.ph) and on the BLES Internet website (http://www.bles.dole.gov.ph).
Simultaneous release to all interested parties	The data are first released by posting on the BLES Internet website (http://www.bles.dole.gov.ph). The public are also informed of this through the "LABSTAT Updates", a hard copy dissemination format of BLES containing brief analysis of its survey results and other labor data from secondary sources.
Integrity
Dissemination of terms and conditions under which official statistics are produced, including ... confidentiality of individual responses	The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the terms and conditions of Executive Order 126 (January 30, 1987), Executive Order 352 (July 1, 1996) and NSCB Resolution No.1 (April 17,1998). Executive Order 126: Created the BLES, and authorizes it to collect and disseminate labor statistics. While this order is silent on the confidentiality of individual responses from surveys conducted, the Bureau collects data under the pledge of confidentiality. A statement to this effect is printed in all the questionnaires of BLES surveys. Executive Order 352: One of the statistical activities in EO 352 is the Occupational Wages Survey (OWS)---the source of the data on average monthly wage rates in selected occupations. This order lists the designated activity/statistics critical for decision making of the government and the private sector, the implementing agencies, and the frequency of data collection, geographic disaggregation and schedule of data dissemination. Section 2 of this order requires for the dissemination of the data from the designated statistical activities to the general public. Section 3 states that implementing agencies shall be responsible in carrying out improvements in the design and methodology of designated statistical activities in coordination with the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), the Philippines' policy making and coordinating body on statistical matters. Section 4 states that any modification, addition or deletion from the list needs the approval of the NSCB. NSCB Resolution No.1 (April 17, 1998) approved the modification of the sampling design, coverage and frequency of conduct (twice a year to annual) of the OWS and provided that the designated period of release of the survey results will be one year from the reference period. It also instructed the BLES to undertake a study to determine the possibility of conducting the survey on a frequency other than annual. Copies of EO 126 may be obtained from the BLES, 3/F DOLE Bldg., Gen. Luna, Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. (Fax: 632 5275506; E-mail: bles_dole@yahoo.com). Copies of EO 352 and NSCB Resolution No. 1 may be obtained from the National Statistical Coordination Board, 2/F Midland Buendia Bldg., Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. Ext., Makati City, Philippines. (Fax: 632 8909408; E-mail: info@nscb.gov.ph).
Identification of internal government access to data before release	The Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment is informed of the data highlights through a memorandum that is sent prior to the release of the data to the public.
Identification of ministerial commentary on the occasion of statistical releases	No ministerial commentary accompanies the release of the data.
Provision of information about revision and advance notice of major changes in methodology	The data are final when first released and are not subject to revision. The public are informed of any revisions or changes by posting the questionnaire and survey metadata on the BLES Internet website (http://www.bles.dole.gov.ph) at the start of field operations. The metadata is updated and posted on the website together with the survey results.
Quality
Dissemination of documentation on methodology and sources used in preparing statistics	A broad description of the methodology of the OWS can be found on the BLES Internet website (http://www.bles.dole.gov.ph)
Dissemination of ... that support statistical cross- checks and provide assurance of reasonableness	Aside from average monthly wage rates in selected occupations, the OWS also provides statistics on median basic pay and allowance in industries. Statistics of the revised series begin with October 1997 reference. Data on the average monthly wage rates in selected occupations are found in other BLES dissemination formats like the: LABSTAT Updates: This material contains an analysis of specific data sets on various area of labor and employment enhanced by tables and graphs. This is likewise the dissemination format of all surveys (i.e. on employment, labor turnover rates, wage rates, labor cost, occupational injuries and diseases, industrial relations practices) conducted by the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics. Generally, the survey data in this material refer only to those of the reference period, i.e. no time series data are presented. Analysis of the results of the Occupational Wages Survey (average monthly wage rates in selected occupations and median basic pay and allowance in industries) are published in the LABSTAT Updates under the series Wage Rates in Industries. The 1997 results were published in the LABSTAT Digest under the series A Statistical Digest on Wage Rates. However, this statistical material was discontinued starting 2001 to avoid confusion between LABSTAT Updates and LABSTAT Digest. The first issue in the series is disseminated within one month after the release of the data on the BLES Internet website. Yearbook of Labor Statistics: a compendium of trend and structural data on major areas of labor and employment. Most of the statistics cover a 10-year period. One chapter is on wages and salaries. Philippine Industry Yearbook of Labor Statistics: This material based on official sources presents an alternative approach to data presentation. Topical in approach, this compilation provides time series data on employment, labor cost, wages, labor productivity, hours of work, occupational injuries, occupational diseases, labor standards enforcement, unionism and collective bargaining, strike/lockout cases, economic performance and industry performance disaggregated across specific industries from 1991. One chapter is devoted to wage statistics. The OWS results and data from other BLES surveys and the LABSTAT Updates can be accessed from the BLES Internet website. The website also contains the latest data on labor force, inflation rate, poverty statistics, labor productivity, overseas Filipino workers and their remittances, unionism and collective bargaining, and strike/lockout cases.
Notes: Owing to conditions of excess supply, wage rates do not change significantly on a yearly basis and much less on a quarterly basis. This makes wage rates statistics less relevant for short term analysis of developments in the macro economy. The Philippines therefore will use the "as relevant" flexibility for this data category and will publish wage rates statistics with a periodicity of two years and a timeliness of 12 months.