The Current Labor Statistics (CLS) published quarterly by the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) provides data users with macroeconomic statistics and administrative-based statistics related to labor and employment.

          The October 2008 issue includes the preliminary results of the July 2008 round of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) by the National Statistics Office (NSO).  Presented also are data on the minimum wage rates by region,  agricultural wage rates, indices of compensation and employment, average daily basic pay of workers, data on closure/retrenchment of establishments, rebased 2000 Consumer Price Index (CPI) and inflation rates, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross National Product (GNP), Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), foreign investments, OFW deployment and their remittances, number of workers assessed and certified under Philippine TVET qualification and certification system, number of maritime trainees certificated, labor turnover rates, number of examinees and passers of various licensure examinations and final results of the 2006 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES).  Included for the first time under the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) indicators on labor are data on employment to population ratio, vulnerable employment and labor productivity for the period 2006 to July 2008.  Likewise, administrative-based data from the operations of DOLE for the first semester of 2008 are presented.   

                                                                                                                 MANUEL L. LAOPAO

                                                                                                                           Officer-In-Charge