Working Children and Child Labor Situation

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Reference Number:
2021-484
Proportion of working children 5 to 17 years old was estimated at 2.8 percent

The total population of children 5 to 17 years old was estimated at 31.17 million in
2020. This was higher than the total number of Filipino children 5 to 17 years of
age registered in 2019 at 30.50 million.

Of the estimated 31.17 million children 5 to 17 years old in 2020, 872 thousand or
2.8 percent were working. This was lower than the proportion of working children
5 to 17 years old in 2019 estimated at 3.4 percent. (Figure 1 and Table A)

Working children was higher among boys compared to the girls. Of the 872
thousand working children in 2020, 582 thousand or 66.7 percent were boys while
291 thousand or 33.3 percent were girls. In 2019, 65.6 percent of the working
children were boys while 34.4 percent were girls.

Children belonging to the older age groups (15 to 17 years) were more likely to
work than the younger ones. Majority of the working children belonged to age
group 15 to 17 years of age accounting for 68.9 percent of the total working
children in 2020 and 67.4 percent in 2019. (Table B)
Majority of working children were in agriculture sector

By broad industry group, agriculture sector registered the highest proportion of

working children in 2020 at 47.4 percent. The same sector had working children
accounted for 44.0 percent of the total working children in 2019. In addition,
working children in the services sector was the second largest group accounted for
43.4 percent of the total working children in 2020. Working children in the
industry sector consistently accounted for the smallest contributing sector at 9.1
percent. (Figure 2 and Table B)

Majority of the working children worked 20 hours or less per week

Working children were asked on the actual number of hours worked during the
reference week. Of the total working children, majority (53.0%) reported to have
worked 20 hours or less per week in 2020. This was lower than the proportion of
children who worked 20 hours or less per week in 2019 at 69.6 percent.
Meanwhile, children who worked for 21 to 40 hours increased to 26.7 percent in
2020 from the 14.8 percent in 2019. (Table B)
Working Children was highest in the Northern Mindanao

Across the regions, CALABARZON with about 4.22 million, National Capital
Region (NCR) with nearly 3.35 million, and Central Luzon with around 3.26
million had the largest population of children 5 to 17 years old in 2020. In terms of
proportion of working children, Northern Mindanao posted the highest at 7.2
percent in 2020 and 10.0 percent in 2019. (Table A)

In terms of the share of the working children, for every 100 working children in the
country in 2020, around 12 (12.4%) resided in Northern Mindanao, 11 (11.1%)
resided in Bicol Region, and 9 resided in CALABARZON. On the other hand,
Cordillera Autonomous Region (1.2%), NCR (1.6%), Davao Region (2.1%), and
Cagayan Valley (2.6%) each had less than 3 working children for every 100
working children in the country. (Figure 3 and Table B)

Child laborers in the country continued to drop in 2020

Child labor referred to in this report were those children 5 to 17 years of age
engaged in hazardous work identified in the DOLE Administrative Order No. 149
or long working hours only.

The total number of working children considered engaged in child labor was
estimated at 597 thousand in 2020. This magnitude of working children considered
engaged in child labor was lower than the 640 thousand child laborers in 2019.
(Table C)

In terms of proportion, 68.4 percent of the working children were engaged in child
labor in 2020. This was higher than the estimate of 61.2 percent in 2019. (Figure 4
and Table C)

Of the estimated 597 thousand working children engaged in child labor in

2020, 435 thousand or 72.8 percent of them were boys while 162 thousand or 27.2
percent were girls. (Figure 5 and Table D)
Across age groups, the largest proportion of working children considered engaged
in child labor were in the ages 15 to 17 years at 73.3 percent in 2020. In the same
manner, child laborers aged 15 to 17 years old comprised the largest share in 2019
at 71.2 percent. (Figure 6 and Table D)

Classified by broad industry group in 2020, about 63.6 percent of child laborers
were in the agriculture sector, 28.6 percent were in the services sector, and 7.9
percent were in the industry sector. (Figure 7 and Table D)
Thirteen in every 100 child laborers were in Northern Mindanao

Among the 17 regions, Northern Mindanao had the largest share of the country’s
child laborers. For every 100 child laborers in the country in 2020, 13 (13.1%)
were from Northern Mindanao, followed by Bicol Region with around 9 (9.2%)
child laborers. Cordillera Administrative Region had the lowest share of child
laborers at 1.6 percent followed by NCR at 1.9 percent and Davao Region at 2.2
percent in 2020. (Figure 8 and Table D)
 
The population of children aged 5 to 17 years old in 2020 was estimated at 31.17
million. This was higher than the total number of Filipino children 5 to 17 years of
age in 2019 at 30.50 million.

 Working children in 2020 were estimated at 2.8 percent of the 31.17 million
children 5 to 17 years old. This was lower than the registered working children in
2019 at 3.4 percent.

 In terms of the distribution of working children by broad industry group,

agriculture sector remained dominant in 2020, followed by services sector, while
industry sector remained the lowest contributor to the total working children.

 Of the 872 thousand working children in 2020, 597 thousand or 68.4 percent
were child laborers. Of these estimated child laborers, 73.3 percent were in age
group 15 to 17 years. Moreover, 63.6 percent of the 597 thousand child laborers
were found in the agriculture sector.

DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.

Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

Child labor: The monster

remains a threat in PH,
worldwide
By: Cristina Eloisa Baclig - Content Researcher Writer / @inquirerdotnet
INQUIRER.net / 12:12 PM December 15, 2022
MANILA, Philippines—The fight against child labor has seen global progress in
the past years. However, it remains to be a major challenge in many parts of the
world as new data showed a rising number of children being forced into mostly
hazardous work.
Child labor, as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO), is “work
that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that
is harmful to physical and mental development.“

These include work that is:

 mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful to children
 interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to
attend school
 obliges them to leave school prematurely
 requires them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively
long and heavy work.
Data by Alliance 8.7—a global partnership for eradicating forced labor, modern
slavery, human trafficking and child labor around the world—showed that across
the globe, there are 160 million—or 1 in 10—children aged 5 to 17 engaged in
child labor in 2020.
The good news, according to Alliance 8.7, is that between 2016 and 2020, there
has been significant progress in addressing and reducing the number of children
entering the workforce at a very early age.

Progress so far
Alliance 8.7 noted that between 2016 and 2020, child labor among girls went down
to 1.2 million cases. From 8.4 percent recorded in 2016, the share of young girls in
child labor slipped to 7.8 percent in 2020.

Child labor among boys slightly rose from 10.7 percent in 2016 to 11.2 percent in
2020. The data likewise showed that child labor has been more prevalent among
boys than girls at every age.
Figures also showed that since 2000, cases of child labor had declined faster
among girls than boys.

However, while Alliance 8.7 acknowledged that the numbers represent a “success
story,” it explained that it does not present the full picture.

“Many girls engage in caregiving, cooking, and other domestic chores for long
hours that interfere with their schooling. But the definition of child labour does not
include such work–if it did, many more girls would be classified as child
labourers,” it added.
Alliance 8.7 said child labor among those aged 12 to 14 years olds fell from 49.1
million cases in 2016 to 35.6 million in 2020.
However, the organization also saw “a worrying rise in child labor among very
young children” or those who are just 5 to 11 years old. From 8.3 percent in 2016,
the share of 5 to 11 year-old children forced to work rose to 9.7 percent in 2020.

Global progress stagnated

Global progress in the fight against child labor, however, stagnated from 2016 to
2020.
According to Alliance 8.7, over the four year period, the percentage of children in
child labor around the globe remained unchanged while the absolute number of
children forced to work went up by over 8 million.
From 151.6 million in 2016, the number of children in child labor rose to 160
million.

“This result is alarming. Global progress against child labour has stalled for the
first time since the ILO began tracking it, two decades ago. Without urgent
measures, the COVID-19 crisis is likely to push millions more children into child
labour,” Alliance 8.7 said.
“This is our reality check. We have a global commitment to end child labour by
2025. If we do not act now on an unprecedented scale, the timeline for ending child
labour will stretch years further into the future,” it added.
Nearly half of children forced to work in 2020—around 79 million—are doing so
in hazardous conditions which directly endanger their health, safety, or moral
development. The figure increased from 72.5 million in 2016.

“Hazardous work has persisted and expanded among younger children. This is
particularly concerning, considering the common hazards that children are exposed
to include harmful agrochemicals, physically strenuous tasks such as carrying
heavy loads, exposure to extreme temperatures, use of dangerous tools, and
worse,” said Alliance 8.7.

Child labor in PH
In the Philippines, as of 2020, there were 872,300 children aged 5 to 17 years old
in child labor—or 2.8 percent of the age group’s total population, pegged at around
31,169,600, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA).

The figures slid from 1,046,500 children aged 5 to 17 in child labor recorded in
2019—or 3.4 percent of the total 30,497,900 children in the same age group that
same year.
The PSA also noted that children belonging to the older age groups (5 to 17 years)
were more likely to work than the younger ones. Majority of working children
belonged to the age group 15 to 17 years of age, accounting for 68.9 percent of the
total working children in 2020 and 67.4 percent in 2019.
In 2020, the sector with the highest number of working children was agriculture—
accounting for 43.4 percent of the total number of working children that year. It
was followed by the services sector with 43.4 percent, and industry sector with 9.1
percent.

The proportion of children (5 to 17 years of age) engaged in hazardous work and

long working hours, according to the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE) administrative order, shot up from 61.2 percent in 2019 to 68.4 percent in
2020.
Unicef had expressed concern about the child labor situation in the Philippines,
noting that millions of Filipino children might be pushed to work as a result of the
COVID-19 crisis.
“As the pandemic wreaks havoc on family incomes, without support, many could
resort to child labour,” ILO Director-General Guy Ryder previously said.

Social protection is vital in times of crisis, as it provides assistance to those who

are most vulnerable. Integrating child labour concerns across broader policies for
education, social protection, justice, labour markets, and international human and
labour rights makes a critical difference,” he added.
COVID-19, Unicef noted, could result in a rise in poverty and, therefore, an
increase in child labor as households use every available means to survive.
“In times of crisis, child labour becomes a coping mechanism for many families,”
said former Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

“As poverty rises, schools close and the availability of social services decreases,
more children are pushed into the workforce. As we reimagine the world post-
COVID, we need to make sure that children and their families have the tools they
need to weather similar storms in the future. Quality education, social protection
services and better economic opportunities can be game changers.”

Strengthening fight against child labor

Alliance 8.7 believes that without proper mitigation measures, an estimated 8.9
million more children will “likely be engaged in child labour by the end of 2022
due to the poverty impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.”

“Without accelerated action, we will not come close to our goal of eliminating
child labour by 2030. Projections based on trends predict a mere 22% reduction in
child labour over the next eight years,” it added.
To help reduce child labor worldwide and prevent the projected increase in the
number of children engaged in hazardous work, Alliance 8.7 said policies that
promote social protection programs would be crucial.
These include policies on improving access to health care and income security, as
well as policies that promote decent work and gender equality.

in the Philippines, several laws are in place to protect the safety and
welfare of children, including:

 Presidential Decree (P.D.) 442 Labor Code of the Philippines

 P.D. 603, The Child and Youth Welfare Code

 Republic Act (RA) 9231 or an Act Providing for the Elimination

of the

 Worst Forms of Child Labor and Affording Stronger Protection

for the

 Working Child, which amended RA No. 7610

 R.A. 9775, or Anti-Child Pornography Act

 R.A. 10361, or Domestic Workers Act

 R.A. 10364, or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of

2012 that included as acts of trafficking the worst forms of child

labor defined in

 Republic Act No. 9231

 R.A. 10821, or the Children’s Emergency Relief and Protection

Act.
Last October, the Quezon City government also formed “Task Force
Sapaguita” to protect children in the city from forced labor and abuse,
following the increase in the number of minors
selling sampaguita garlands in the city.

Task Force Sampaguita is currently helping profiled families by way of

livelihood assistance, educational assistance, and more.

Last June, DOLE reported that over 90,000 children have already been removed
from doing harmful work since the department started profiling child laborers—as
part of the Philippine Development Plan 2017–2022 goal of reducing child labor
cases by 30 percent.