Central Visayas employment down 2.33 percent in January

CEBU, Philippines - Employment rate in Central Visayas has dropped by 2.33 percent in January to 3,146,000 from 3,221,000 in the same month last year, this according to a statistical report from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional office.

However, despite the 75,000 decline, Central Visayas still fared well with 94.3 pecent jobs rate compared to the national employment rate of 94.2 percent for the first month of the year.

Nationwide, Central Visayas placed 11th in the employment rate and placed fifth with the most number of 15 year olds and over in the labor force. 

The region's labor force, which covers those who are employed and those still looking for jobs, likewise dropped by 3.1 percent from 3,442,000 in January 2015 to 3,336,000 in the same month this year.

While those not in the labor force increased by 12 percent from 1,616,000 in 2015 to 1,812,000 in the same period this year.

DOLE Statistician II Erick Satuita said in an interview with The Freeman yesterday that decline in the labor force in Central Visayas is most likely caused by those who opted to temporarily stop working to take further studies with the hopes of getting a promotion and higher paying jobs in the future.

He added that competition and qualifications these days are heightened due to the  K12 program, wherein employers tend to expect more from the applicants.

Fulltime Medicine student Arianne Sean Estrada said, “the higher degree you’ll attain, the higher salary you’ll get when you work. So it is best that you proceed for another degree most especially if you are in a medical field, the competition is very high because hospitals are very limited in our country.”

Myra Monique Paderog, a part-time student taking up Master’s degree in Public Administration echoed Estrada's statement saying, “nowadays, employers are looking for high-skilled workers and for me to be able to compete with the other applicants, a master’s degree is a must.”

Moreover, the same DOLE report revealed that employment rate usually increase in the months of April and October. April 2015 recorded a jobs rate of 3,274,000 while October 2015 employed a total of 3,229,000.

Satuita said that more people are usually added to the workforce during the months of April and October because these are the months when fresh graduates start looking and applying for jobs. Likewise, some companies these days also have the preference to hire fresh graduates.

“Availability of jobs is not the only basis of high employment rate, the population will also count. It is a case to case basis and most of the time population is the main basis for it. The lesser the population, there will be more chances of being employed because the competition is not that hyped." (FREEMAN)