DOLE: Rising rate of underemployed is agency's weak point

Department of Labor and Employment admitted the increasing rate of underemployment is one of its weaknesses in the recent years.

DOLE's Bureau of Employment Statistics, in its 2006 employment situation said "labor market remained resilient in 2006, notwithstanding the steep increase in the world prices for oil products that resulted in higher inflation rate, and the series of typhoons that hit the country in the second half of the year."

The report said that from 17.6 percent in 2004, underemployment rate rose sharply by 3.4 percent to reach 21 percent in 2005 and rose to another 1.7 percent in 2006 to react 22.7 percent.

"One of the weaknesses of the labor market is the rise in underemployment in the recent years," it emphasized.

The report also showed that underemployment rate in 2006 rose sharply in April to 25.4 percent from 21.3 percent in January. In July, it declined to 23.5 percent and declined further to 20.4 percent in October.

The figures cited in the report represent the average four rounds of Labor Force Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office in the months of January, April, July and October.

"In absolute terms, the number of underemployed went up by 682,000 to reach 7.467 million (in 2006)," the report stressed. In 2005, underemployment rate was pegged at 6.785 million, and in 2004, underemployment was at 5.575 million.

DOLE also said that about 60.4 percent of the total underemployed persons were visibly underemployed, or have worked less than 40 hours a week. This corresponds to visible underemployment rate of 13.7 percent, which increased slightly from 12.4 percent last year.

The NSO defined underemployment as a situation wherein the number of hours worked of an employed person is not enough compared to what he is willing and able to engage in.

Based on the October 2006 Labor Force Survey, the number of persons wanting longer hours of work in Central Visayas has increased from 17.2 percent in July 2005 to 19.8 percent in July 2006, ranking it the tenth among regions with highest underemployment rate.

Region V (Bicol Region) topped the list with 38.1 percent of underemployed persons, followed by Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) with 29.7 percent and Region X (Northern Mindanao) with 28.6 percent.

In October 2006, the number of part-time workers, or those who work for less than 40 hours, also increased by 3.2 percent from 11.8 million in October 2005 to 12.2 million in October last year.

In 2006, DOLE said that employment growth was almost equally spread over the year except in the fourth quarter when growth rate slowed down.

"Specifically, employment level rose year-on-year by 2.3 percent in April and July and dipped to 0.9 percent in October, registering the lowest gain for the year," it said in a report.

On the average, the annual employment growth for the year 2006 was placed at two percent, a little lower from 2005's average growth rate of 2.2 percent. The average number of employed persons in 2006 was pegged at 32.961 million, while the average number of employed persons in 2005 was at 32.313 million. - Wenna A. Berondo/MEEV