participate in the labor force, 15.2 percent are unemployed – the youth unemployment rate is more than twice that of the national average (6.8 percent) or three times that of 25-50 years old (4.6 percent) and almost six times of that of the 50-65 years old (2.6 percent). The mean level of daily wage for the youth (143 PHP) is 25 percent lower than the national average (195PHP). In 2003-2007, the youth unemployment rate increased by 0.6 percent and daily wage declined by 3.9 percent. This suggests that the youth, many of whom have limited working experience, face the most challenging situation in the labor market.

**<u>Table7: Labor Market Performance Indicators by Age Group</u>**

||**Part**<br>|**icipatio**<br>**Rate**|**n**|**Empl**<br>**Ra**<br>**Work**|**oyme**<br>**te (to**<br>**ing A**|**nt**<br>**ge**|**Unemplo**<br>**Rate**<br>**Particip**|**yment**<br>**(to**<br>**ation **<br>**Daily Ear**<br>**P**|**nings (2**<br>**HP)**|**000**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Mean|%Δ||Mean|%Δ||Mean|%Δ<br>Mean|Δ||
|Age group (15<=age<25)|45.8|-3.48|*******|40.5|-3.1|***|15.2|0.6<br>*<br>142.9|-3.9|***|
|Age group (25<=age<50)|73.1|-1.35|*******|70.1|-1.3|***|4.6|0.0<br>213.2|-9.9|***|
|Age group (50<=age<65)|70.7|-0.62|**|67.5|-0.9|***|2.6|0.4<br>242.7|-17.5|***|
|Age group (65<=age)|38.8|-1.17|**|35.0|-1.0|*|1.0|0.1<br>165.4|5.7||
|**Philippines**|**62.4**|**-1.82**||**58.2**|**-1.8**||**6.8**|**0.1**<br>**195.3**|**-8.3**||

_Source:_ LFS, 2003-2007 _Note:_ Test statistics are shown for significance of change in each indicator during the 2003 – 2007 period: *, **, and *** represent significance at 10 percent, 5 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

The wage rate is similar between males and females, but the participation and employment rates differ widely (Table 8). For those employed, the daily wage level is similar – the average daily wage of both males and females is 195PHP. As a result of the large difference in participation, the chances for female workers who choose to participate in the labor force to get a job are not much different from those for male workers – both with an unemployment rate of about 7 percent.

The distribution of daily wages is, however, more unequal for females and youth. While a similar share of females who participate in the labor force find a job as their male counterparts, they typically have a wider range of wages. In other words, although female and male workers have a similar level of average wages, female workers are more likely to be in both ends of the spectrum and have high-paid jobs or low-paid jobs than male workers. The P90/P10 ratio (4.8) and the Gini coefficient (0.35) of male workers’ daily wages are lower than those of female workers (8.3 and 0.42, respectively) (Table 9A). Wages increased with age/experience for white-collar jobs and declined for blue-collar jobs after a certain age. The P90/P10 ratio (5.4) and the Gini coefficient (0.34) of the age group 15-25 and 25-50 are lower than those of the age group 50-65 (Table 9B).

> daily wage of those aged 15 to 65. Labor market conditions for the elderly group (over 65) are different from other age groups as a large share of the elderly chooses not to participate in labor force. For example, about two out of five of the elderly population (aged over 65 years old) participates in the labor market; only 1 percent of the elderly in labor force is unemployed.

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