Wages, salaries of agri workers down in 2020

by Catherine Talavera – The Philippine Star, 24 Dec 2021

MANILA, Philippines — The average basic wage and salary paid to the country’s agriculture workers declined by 1.6 percent last year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

In its Agricultural Indicator Systems: Employment and Wages in the Agriculture Sector report, the PSA said the average basic wage and salary paid to agriculture workers amounted to P270.62 per day last year, lower than the P274.99 per day in 2019.

However, the amount went up by 6.8 percent from 2016 to 2020. In 2016, the average basic wage and salary paid to agriculture workers registered at P209.32 per day.

PSA data showed that the basic wage and salary of agricultural workers engaged in fishing aquaculture activities stood at P281 per day, down 14.01 percent from P327.01 per day in the previous year.

Wages and salary received by those engaged in agriculture and forestry were even lower last year at P270.07 per day.

This is lower than the P271.41 per day basic wage and salary in 2019.

Despite the declines in 2020, the average basic wage and salary posted increments from 2016 to 2020.

“Over the reference years, the growth in the basic pay of wage and salary workers in agriculture and forestry averaged by 6.9 percent while the increment was 6.6 percent for fishing and aquaculture,”the PSA said.

Meanwhile, the report also showed that the number of employed persons in the agriculture sector rose by 4.6 percent last year to 9.75 million persons.

“Consequently, the sector indicated a higher share of 24.8 percent in the country’s total employment,” the PSA said.

Total employed persons in the agriculture sector i comprised 7.48 million males and 2.27 million females.

“This indicated an increase of 4.2 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively as compared to last year’s count,” the PSA said.

The proportion of the employed males in the agriculture sector to the total male employment was 30.9 percent.

In contrast, female agricultural workers accounted for 15 percent of the total female employment in the country.