The Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, adhering to the principles of integrity and objectivity, will be a premier statistical organization providing statistical services and producing impartial, timely and reliable information on labor and employment that address the needs of its clients - the government, the general public and the international community.

     We, the BLES, commit ourselves to implement a comprehensive and efficient labor statistics system in support of labor administration and national development goals.

     The Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics is committed to provide statistical information and services on labor and employment to meet the needs and expectations of its clients and to continually improve its Quality Management System.

      In pursuit of this commitment, quality objectives that have been established and communicated to the BLES employees, are being implemented and monitored and shall be reviewed regularly in accordance with appropriate statistical frameworks and quality standards.

1. Formulate, develop and implement plans and programs on the labor statistical system in order to provide the government with timely, accurate and reliable data on labor and employment;
2. Conduct nationwide surveys and studies which will generate trends and structures on labor and employment;
3. Develop and prescribe uniform standards, nomenclatures and methodologies for the collection, processing, presentation and analysis of labor and employment data;
4. Establish appropriate mechanisms for the coordination of all statistical activities in the Department and for collaboration with other government and private agencies including international research organizations in the conduct of surveys and studies in the area of labor and employment;
5. Disseminate statistical information and provide statistical services/advice to the users by establishing a data bank and issuing the Bureau’s statistical materials and research findings;
6. Develop and undertake programs and projects geared towards the enhancement of the technical competence of the Department on theories, techniques and methodologies for the improvement of the labor statistical system;
7. Monitor and exercise technical supervision over the statistical units in the Department and its agencies; and
8. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law or assigned by the Secretary.

PROGRAM AGENDA                     Top

I. Improving Statistics Generation and Dissemination

  A. Conduct of Surveys – The following nationwide surveys are conducted regularly:

1. BLES Integrated Survey (BITS) - integrates the data requirements from four (4) surveys of the Bureau on employment (Employment, Hours and Earnings Survey), occupational injuries (Occupational Injuries Survey), labor cost (Labor Cost Survey) and labor relations (Industrial Relations at the Workplace). Starting 2003, the survey will be conducted annually covering non-agricultural establishments employing at least 20 workers. However, the inquiry on labor cost will be done every four (4) years.
2. Occupational Wages Survey (OWS) - monitors the average wage rates of at least 159 selected occupations in 41 non-agricultural industries. Data are collected every two (2) years from establishments employing at least 50 workers.
3. General Survey on Labor Organizations (GSLO) - generates updated data on all registered labor organizations nationwide. It is conducted every four (4) years.
4. Labor Turnover Survey (LTS) - generates quarterly data on labor turnover (accession rate and separation rate) from business enterprises in Metro Manila. This special survey for the DOLE Secretary aims to capture the flow of workers in and out of the firms as indicator of the labor demand (job creation) and is intended to complement the data on job displacements generated from administrative records by the DOLE.

     Under Executive Order 352 dated 01 July 1996, the EHES and OWS have been designated as among the government statistical activities whose statistics are considered critical for decision making of the government and the private sector. 

B.      Maintenance of Statistical Databases/Information Systems  - the BLES develops and implements statistical information systems aimed at providing management easily accessible data on labor and employment and maintaining updated sampling frames for its surveys. Among the systems that have been developed and are being maintained are the following:

1.       Job Displacements Monitoring System (JDMS) – compiles and processes Notices of Terminations filed by employers with the DOLE Regional Offices.

2.       Sampling Frame for Establishments Surveys – establishments listing culled from various sources and updated through BLES establishments surveys.

3.       Sampling Frame for Surveys on Labor Organizations – sourced from various agencies in the DOLE with transactions with labor organizations. The data base provides a sampling frame for labor organization surveys.

C.      Conduct of Researches – the BLES undertakes special studies either on its own or in collaboration with other institutions.  In 2002, it started the conversion of the Public Use Files (PUFs) on Labor Force Survey (LFS), Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) and Annual Poverty Indicator Survey (APIS) of the National Statistics Office (NSO) to SPSS-based files.  This is in support to the research agenda of the DOLE.

      In 2003, the BLES in collaboration with the Institute of Labor Studies (ILS) has embarked on a project "Development of the Philippine Decent Work Index" which is funded by ILO-UNDP. Its main objective is to develop a decent work index to measure and monitor the progress towards increasing opportunities for productive and justly remunerated work under acceptable situations and working conditions.

  D.  Information Dissemination

        1.  Statistical Materials - the BLES prepares and disseminates the following:         

a.       LABSTAT Updates – an analysis of specific data sets on labor and employment statistics release from time to time; circulated free of charge and downloadable from the BLES Homepage.

b.       Current Labor Statistics (CLS) – published quarterly.

c.       Yearbook of Labor Statistics (YLS) – statistical compendium published annually.

d.       Philippine Industry Yearbook of Labor Statistics (PIYLS) – a statistical compilation at specific industry levels. Updated annually and available in CD together with three other BLES publications.

e.       Gender Statistics on Labor and Employment - a compilation of statistics on women and men in the labor force included in a 4-in-1 CD.

f.         Glossary of Terms Commonly Used on Labor and Employment Statistics – a compilation of definitions of the various concepts used on labor and employment.

2.       Data Banking Services - The BLES maintains a Data Bank Unit to service walk-in researchers, special requests for statistics through fax, e-mail and mail, sale of its regular publications and issuance of other statistical materials.

3.       Maintenance of BLES Homepage – This is the internet-based system that provides statistics on selected labor and employment indicators. Clients can access and download statistics at http://www.bles.dole.gov.ph | http://www.manila-online.net/bles. It also provides links to other sites such as the National Statistics Office (NSO), National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), and international agencies like the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

4.  Other Advocacy Projects - The BLES also sets out advocacy activities aimed at educating its clients for better appreciation and utilization of labor and employment statistics.  Among these are conduct of dialogues/consultations with its key informants, briefings/orientations, and an Appreciation Course on Labor and Employment Statistics.  The last activity is also being offered to employers/labor groups and other interested parties at mutually agreed upon arrangements.

II. Strengthening Technical Supervision and Statistical Coordination 

A.  Training and Technical Services - The Bureau provides consultative services/advice to other units in the DOLE on labor and employment statistics; analysis, development and maintenance of statistical information system; training design; and other collaborative statistical activities.

B.  Technical Supervision -   The BLES, in the exercise of technical supervision over the statistical units in the Department and its agencies, prescribes and monitors the use of statistical standards, nomenclatures, classification system, and methodologies for the collection, processing, and presentation of labor and employment data. It assists in the preparation and updating of Guidelines of the Statistical and Performance Reporting System (SPRS) of the DOLE Regional Offices and participates in the development of applications systems to ensure that statistical standards and classification systems are adhered to. It spearheaded the development of the Critical Indicator Reports (CIR) which is now institutionalized in the Department.

      It acts as the Secretariat of the DOLE Inter-Agency Committee (IAC) on Statistical Matters, where the BLES Division Chiefs are designated as the Technical Staff of the IAC. The IAC is chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Program Support and is composed of representatives (Division Chief level and up) from bureaus, attached agencies, services and from the DOLE National Capital Region (NCR).

C. Inter-Agency Linkages - Consistent with the decentralized structure of the Philippine Statistical System (PSS), the BLES remains independent in the implementation of its statistical activities but closely coordinates with the NSCB for policies and standards on statistical matters. The BLES chairs the Technical Working Group (TWG) on Labor and Employment Statistics under the NSCB's Inter-Agency Committee (IAC) on Labor, Income and Productivity Statistics. It sits as a member in various Technical Committees such as those on Survey Design, Seasonal Adjustment of Philippine Time-Series, Poverty Statistics and on Statistical Standards Classification, and other TWGs.

III. Provision of Institutional Support

As part of its commitment to provide quality statistics to its clients and to strengthen its institutional capability, the BLES has established its Quality Management System (QMS).

Towards this, it has developed and documented its systems and processes and has established the following QMS Support Groups that assist in implementing programs to strengthen the Bureau's compliance to ISO standards:

• Client Satisfaction Measurement Team
  
• Internal Audit Team
  
• Training Team
  
• Statistics Support Group
  
• IT Support Group
  
• Preventive Action Group
  
• Document Control Team
  
• Hiring Committee
  
• 5S + 1 Team

Moreover, to effectively manage its resources, the Fund Utilization Monitoring System (FUMS) has been put in place. Likewise, systems development of other monitoring systems such as supply and property inventory and mailing list are on-going.