Disparities in Labor Market Performance in the Philippines

Luo, Xubei

关键词: AGE GROUP;    AGE GROUPS;    AGRICULTURAL SECTOR;    AVERAGE WAGE;    AVERAGE WAGES;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5124
RP-ID  :  WPS5124

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The Philippine economy has been growingrapidly, at an annual growth rate of 5 percent over the pastfive years. Such decent growth in gross domestic product,however, did not translate into an increase in householdincome. Wage income declined in real terms. The povertyheadcount increased slightly. The fruits of economic growthwere not shared equally across the country. Challengesremain to create more jobs to keep pace with the rapidlygrowing active population. Using the Philippines Labor ForceSurvey data (2003-2007), this paper reviews the disparitiesin labor market performance and examines the contribution ofregional and individual characteristics. The results showthat real wages declined and disparities widened between theNational Capital Region and other islands. The youth, lesseducated, and women face more challenges in findingemployment with a decent salary, other things being equal.Disparities in labor market performance are largelyassociated with the difference in regional structure andhuman capital endowment. Individual characteristics accountfor roughly one-third of the difference in wages between theNational Capital Region and other regions; regionalstructures and other unobservable factors account fortwo-thirds of the difference.