Labor Force and Employment

Out of the total labor force in 2000, 92.3% or 258,872 were employed leaving only 7.7% unemployed which was higher than the regional data of only 7%. For year 2000, based on the 58.5% participation rate, an estimated total of 280,468 are in the labor force. The computed labor force for the latter is estimated based on the data of the Provincial Statistical Watch in October, 2000 (Table 4-1). The increasing unemployment rate in the region particularly on the province of Zamboanga del Sur is due to the economic dependency on purely primary agri-fishery industry while the labor force is increasing. The decreased in investment of priority areas due to increasing interest rates of bank loans resulted also to decreased on employment rates and majority of the workers are classified to seasonal employees.

Among the seven (7) major occupational groups, agricultural workers posted the biggest group representing almost 45.30% of the total employed labor population. (Table 4-2) The reduction of these agricultural workers from 60% from previous years to 45.30% is attributed to the programs on skills training offered by TESDA and other technical schools that upgrade the manpower capability in order to produce competitive goods and services.