Government rolls out 10-year job creation program

MANILA, Philippines — The government has launched a long-term masterplan for job creation that aims to bring down the unemployment rate and increase the labor force participation rate (LFPR) by 2034.

The Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) together with the Department of Trade and Industry as well as the Department of Labor and Employment yesterday unveiled the Trabaho Para Sa Bayan (TPB) Plan 2025 to 2034.

The plan outlines the strategies for job creation and enhancing the employability of the Filipino workforce over the next decade.

Aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028 and the long-term vision or the AmBisyon Natin 2040, President Marcos signed Republic Act 11962 or the TPB Act in September 2023 to address challenges in the labor market.

Under the TPB, the government aims to increase the LFPR or percentage of the working-age population that is either employed or actively seeking employment to 68.2 percent in 2034 from 64.4 percent last year.

The plan also aims to increase the female LFPR to 54 percent in 2028 and 59 percent in 2034, from 53.8 percent in 2024.

The government is also targeting to lower the unemployment rate to three percent by 2034 from 3.8 percent last year.

The TPB aims to reduce the underemployment rate or the percentage of those looking for additional jobs or hours of work to 10 to 12 percent in 2028 and seven to nine percent by 2034, from 13.3 percent last year.

Likewise, the proportion of employed poor will be reduced to 10 to 12 percent in 2028 and six to eight percent in 2034, from 16.9 percent in 2023.

In addition, the TPB has set a goal of improving overall labor productivity to five percent in 2028 and 6.8 percent in 2034, from 4.5 percent last year.

For domestic industry diversification, the TPB target is for the country to rank 30th or better by 2034 from 39th place last year under the Global Innovation Index (GII).

The TPB goal for production and export complexity is to rank 25th or better in 2034 under the GII from 33rd in 2024.

“This is actually a big task, especially since by 2035, a majority of the workforce will be coming from Gen Z and Gen Alpha. So actually, we really need policy reform here. Will that make us a strong economy? I think it will make us more resilient,” DEPDev Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said in a press conference.

To create labor demand, Edillon said there is a need to expand and facilitate access to markets, encourage investments in priority sectors, ensure ease of doing business, establish a dynamic innovation ecosystem, promote technology adoption as well as encourage enterprise-based education and training.

Given trends that can affect the labor market including the rising use of artificial intelligence (AI), she said there is a need to prepare the workforce to leverage the new technology.

Gonzalo Varela, lead economist and program leader for the Prosperity Unit for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei at the World Bank, said the multilateral lender estimates about 35 to 37 percent of jobs in the Philippines to be exposed to AI, with about half of those likely to be enhanced by AI and the other half expected to be replaced by the technology.

“AI certainly will be a productivity shock. It will be a shock that will increase productivity, will create more opportunities, but will also create a lot of changes,” he said.

“This TPB Plan is a very important strategy to think together how we can take advantage of the technological changes that are going to affect job creation,” he said.

In addition to automation, digitalization and emerging technologies, the government expects geopolitical trends, climate change and demographic shifts to further impact labor market dynamics.

“These evolving trends underscore the urgent need for adaptive policies that foster economic growth and offer essential support to Filipino workers as they navigate these evolving challenges,” DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

To future-proof the labor market, the TPB identified legislative measures that need to be passed.

The TPB’s legislative agenda include the Open Access in Data Transmission Bill, Amendments to the Right-of-Way Act, Blue Economy Act, Lifelong Learning Development Bill, Enterprise Productivity Act, Tax Incentives for Employees on a Work-from-Home or Telecommuting Program, Freelancers’ Protection Act and Day Care Services Act.