Falling Family Incomes

The average income of Filipino families fell by 10 percent between 2000 and 2003, according to final results of government's latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey. Done every three years, FIES is a nationwide survey of households that monitors family incomes as well as levels of consumption of a sample of families and extrapolates nationwide trends that are further disaggregated by region.

The 2003 FIES showed that while total family income in 2003 was estimated at P2.4 trillion, increasing by 10.5 percent from P2.2 trillion recorded in 2000, real incomes actually decreased when figures are adjusted for inflation.

The FIES also showed income disparities across regions. National Capital Region, for example, had the highest average income at P274,529. Aside from NCR, three other regions posted incomes that were higher than the national average: Calabarzon (P185,661), Central Luzon (P158,075) and Cordillera Administrative Region (P157,045).

At the other end of the range was the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, which registered the lowest average income among regions with P84,439.

Nationwide, the survey showed that the richest 10 percent of families earned incomes that were on average 21 times the income of the bottom 10 percent.

And while incomes have fallen, so too have average expenditures, decreasing by eight percent from 2000 to 2003. And what do Filipino families spend on? Less on food; more on clothing and personal care.

FIES showed that the share of family expenditure on food items continued to slide. In 2003, the share of food expenditure to total expenditure was 42.8 percent, about 0.8 percentage point lower than the 2000 proportion of 43.6 percent. Meanwhile, increasing expenditures were noted in items such as fuel, light and water, personal care and effects, clothing, footwear, medical care, durable furniture & equipment and miscellaneous expenditures such as those for special family occasions and gifts & contributions.

Visit the National Statistics Office website to view the survey results.