Comparing the Employment Conditions Across Occupational Groups Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Date

6-2022

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Economics

College

College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Gideon P. Carnaje

Committee Member

Amelia L. Bello Gideon P. Carnaje Ma. Angeles O. Catelo Agham C. Cuevas

Abstract

In comparing the employment conditions across occupational groups in the Philippines before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, this study used the July 2019 and July 2020 Philippine Labor Force Surveys and classified occupations as high-skill, medium-skill and low-skill. It compared high-skill, medium-skill and low-skill workers’ share in total employment and underemployment rate across different categories before and during the pandemic and then tried to determine the factors that affect the likelihood of being in a particular occupation (by skill-level) and whether or not being in a particular occupation (by skill-level) makes one more likely to be underemployed.

From the cross-tabulations on share of employment and underemployment rate by skill level and by specific occupations and from the examination of the marginal effects of the estimated multinomial and binomial logit models, this study revealed during the Covid-19 recession in the Philippines, the share in total employment of low-skill workers rose, but underemployment became more severe for all workers, and more so for low-skill workers.

This means that, in analyzing labor market conditions in the Philippines, researchers must go beyond employment figures and look more closely on the extent of underemployment. A policy implication of this study is that during recessions induced by a pandemic, income support in the short-run should be focused on low-skill workers who might remain employed but suffer from pay cuts and shorter work hours.

Language

English

LC Subject

Occupation group, Skill level, Employment conditions, Underemployment, Multinomial logistic regression, Binomial logistic regression

Location

UPLB College of Economics and Management (CEM)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2022 E2 T53

Document Type

Thesis

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS