More workers displaced

MANILA, Philippines - More workers are losing their jobs due to closure of companies nationwide, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

Data from DOLE’s Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) indicated an increasing number of displaced workers due to company closure.

Although there were fewer establishments that filed notices of closure since 2011, BLES showed the number of affected workers has increased in the past three years.

Based on preliminary data, BLES recorded a total of 36,639 displaced workers due to closure of 1,925 establishments in 2013.

The figure was significantly higher than the 35,526 workers who lost their jobs in 2011 when some 2,211 companies shut down and 31,778 others in 2012 due to a similar reason.

Metro Manila recorded the highest number of displaced workers. A total of 1,925 commercial establishments in the metropolis filed notices of closure, affecting some 17,144 workers in 2013.

Employers cited downsizing as the main reason for the retrenchment and closure of establishments, which led to unemployment of nearly 13,000 workers.

They said financial losses and lack of market forced them to lay off workers or close shop.

The number of companies that closed in 2013 could still go up as calamities hit several areas in the country.

Labor officials expressed confidence the country would be able to recover from the devastation of Typhoon Yolanda and other calamities that hit the country last year.

They said DOLE is implementing emergency employment programs to provide alternative source of income for people in the Visayas and Mindanao displaced by calamities.

Unemployment, poverty worsened

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said the problems on unemployment and poverty have worsened despite reports of the country’s economic growth.

CBCPNews , the official news service provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said Tagle issued the statement during a recent interview with “Everyday Faith Live” show of Tele Care, a New York-based Catholic television network.

Tagle said it’s worth rejoicing that the Philippines registered last year the highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in Southeast Asia.

“We have to salute our government and also the business sector. However, we were alarmed to see also that the level of poverty has not gone down,” he said.

“How come there is this very accelerated growth economically but ordinary people remained poor?” he added.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently reported an increase in the number of unemployed Filipinos despite the country’s above-target economic growth in 2013.

In January, the PSA said, the unemployment rate climbed to 7.5 percent from last year’s 7.1 percent even after GDP last year grew to 7.2 percent, said to be the second fastest in Asia next to China’s 7.7 percent.  – With Evelyn Macairan