CEBU CITY, Cebu, Oct. 10 (PIA) -- The Philippine Statistics Authority  (PSA7) on Oct. 10 held a Virtual Opening Ceremony for the celebration of the 33rd National Statistics Month (NSM).

With the theme "Boosting the Country's Recovery with Informed Decisions, Better Policies," the National Statistics Month aims to promote, enhance, and instill awareness and appreciation on the importance and value of statistics to the different sectors of society and to elicit the cooperation and support of the general public in improving the quality and standards of statistics in the country.

In his welcome remarks, Regional Statistics Committee Vice Chairperson and PSA7 Regional Director Engr. Ariel Florendo highlighted the importance of Statistics in helping the country attain an economic recovery from the effects of the pandemic.

"Statistics played an important role in crafting economic policies; it also served as solid evidence to guide and support the nation's efforts in navigating towards recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic," said Florendo.

"In this year’s celebration of National Statistics Month, I strongly believe that with our collective effort and commitment we can overcome the challenges and move our region towards full recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,"added the PSA7 chief.

During the opening ceremony, the PSA7 also released the highlights of the 2019 to 2021 Annual Provincial Labor Statistics and the Quarterly Regional Results of the Labor Force Survey.

Based on the Annual Provincial Labor Statistics Results, the Central Visayas had a 3.33 million total population in the labor force in 2021, with a 64.8% labor force participation rate.

In the same year, the region also recorded a 92.8% employment rate, 7.2 % unemployment rate, and 14.5% underemployment rate.

Meanwhile, the Quarterly Regional Results of the Labor Force Survey showed that Central Visayas had a 3.36 million total population in the labor force in July 2022, with a 67.8% labor force participation rate.
In the same period, the region also logged a 95.4% employment rate, 4.6% unemployment rate, and 14.6% underemployment rate.

Also, as part of its program of activities and to formally commence the celebration of this year’s National Statistics Month, the agency conducted the 2nd PSA Quiz Bee Regional Elimination, which was participated in by the different government agencies.

The annual observance of NSM is pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 647, declaring the month of October of every year as National Statistics Month. (RGC/PIA7 Cebu)