TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines- From 4,251 information economy (IE) establishments in the region in 2013, only 3,721 remain in the country as of 2015, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
PSA said the decrease in number of IE establishments in 2015 is attributed to the increased usage of smartphones and the boom of call centers in the Philippines.
The agency revealed the figures as part of the results of the 2015 Survey on Information and Communication Technology (SICT) which is among three enterprise-based surveys of the PSA.
IE covers the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector including ICT manufacturing industries and ICT Software services of software publishing; and the Content and Media sector which covers media, radio, and entertainment programs.
In 2015, 17.8% of the total number of IE establishments in the country are from the Content and Media sector. This is slightly up from 16.1% in 2013.
Meanwhile, the ICT sector comprised 82.2% of total IE establishments of the country in 2015. This is lower than 83.9% in 2013.
PSA said the ICT in the Philippines “has created many opportunities with the technological advancement and economic development.”
“The availability of information in ICT-related industries is the key to the formulation of appropriate policies, programs, and reforms that will harness the full potentials of the sector towards achieving the economic growth and social development,” PSA added.
PSA also reported that 98.5% of all IE sectors use computers and other hardware, slightly lower than the 98.8% figure recorded in 2013. The agency noted the use of smartphones and other gadgets as a factor in the decrease.
The percentage of IE establishments with internet access rose in 2015 with 96.7% from 96.3% in 2013.
Meanwhile, 56.9% of IEs have employees who routinely use computers at work while 48.7% of IE businesses have employees who routinely use computers with internet.
Yet, only 29.6% of IEs have a website. Some 30.4% of the ICT sector have a website while 26.6% of from the Content and Media sector have their own website.
Further, 17.6% of IEs have business transactions via cellular or mobile phones and 13.7% of IEs engage in e-commerce via internet.
The results of the SICT will be used to asses use of ICT resources by establishments, determine how establishments use the internet, and determine web presence of establishments among others.
PSA Cagayan Valley Regional Director Marilyn Estrada has encouraged IE businesses in the region to cooperate with the PSA in gathering data for the 2017 SICT.
Estrada assured that information divulged by business owners are protected under the Data Privacy Act. Northernforum.net
