New jobs not enough to lessen joblessness

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the Philippines’ stellar economic growth, employment opportunities have not been enough to reduce joblessness, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said Wednesday.

“While the quality of employment has been improving… the increases in the total number of productive employment opportunities has not been enough to absorb the new entrants to the fast-growing labor force and the reduce of the huge stock of unemployed and underemployed workers,” Balisacan told lawmakers at the presentation of the proposed P2.6 trillion national budget for 2015 at the House of Representatives.

Based on the latest labor force survey  released by the National Statistics Office last April, the number of Filipinos who got new jobs rose to 38.7 million in April 2014 from 37 million during the same period last year. This means 1.7 million jobs have been created nationwide.

The number of unemployed Filipinos, meanwhile, went down from 3 million in April 2013 to 2.9 million for the same month this year.

Total underemployment rate in April 2014 likewise dropped to18.2 percent from 19.2 percent in the same comparable period.

And even as the Aquino administration has made significant gains in reducing the poverty incidence by 3 percent in just a year, Balisacan said the government needs to work harder to provide Filipinos quality jobs.

Some of the business sectors that Balisacan mentioned as having the potential to generate more jobs for Filipinos in the near future are agribusiness, tourism, information technology and business process outsourcing.

On Monday, Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora scored the Aquino administration for its failure to promote inclusive economic growth despite improving the country’s gross domestic product and investment climate.

Budget Sec. Florencio Abad has touted the proposed 2015 national expenditure program as a “reform-backed budget” aimed at promoting inclusive growth and sustaining economic development.

The government has earmarked P700.2 billion or 27 percent of the proposed budget for for economic services such as infrastructure projects and skills training programs for Filipinos looking to fund employment in high-impact sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing. (Wires)(FREEMAN)