Job quality remains an issue as joblessness dips — DoLE

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said underemployment remains a concern even with the decline in joblessness, after jobholders who said they are seeking more work rose to 12.1% in June from 9.9% in May.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said in a statement on Thursday that the rise in underemployment was due to “seasonal factors,” without elaborating.

DoLE is working with the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Inter-Agency Council, chaired by the National Economic and Development Authority, to implement the national employment masterplan.

“Through strategic partnerships with the private sector and targeted interventions, we aim to transform challenges into opportunities, ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are shared equitably and that no one is left behind,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) urged the government to improve job quality, including the share of the workforce holding regular-employee status, to ensure economic growth.

“FFW holds that the high percentage in the service sector includes the prohibited ‘labor-only’ contracting and contractual job arrangements which workers (consider) abusive and exploitative,” FFW President Jose G. Matula said.

“FFW recognizes the significance of these numbers but remains concerned about the quality and security of jobs, particularly in the services sector,” he added.

Another labor group, Kilusang Mayo Uno, called for better job quality.

“The jobs created by the Marcos Jr. administration are of low quality and temporary. The majority of these jobs are in construction, wholesale and retail trade, and food service. Notably, there has been a reduction in agricultural jobs,” Secretary-General Jerome M. Adonis said in a statement.

Mr. Adonis called for the government to implement a liveable minimum wage, which it estimated at P1,200 per day.

“It should also develop a genuine program for creating long-term regular jobs that align with the goals of national development,” he said.

“Workers should assert these demands through various means: forming unions, engaging in dialogue, and staging widespread protests to advance their call,” Mr. Adonis added.

The unemployment rate in June dipped to 3.1%, the lowest in two decades, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Wednesday.

Jobless numbers amounted to about 1.62 million in June, against 2.11 million in May.

The employment rate was 96.9% in June, equivalent to about 50.28 million individuals holding jobs, compared to 95.5% in May, equivalent to 48.87 million people.

The Labor Force Survey found that the service sector remained the top employer, with 58.7% of the workforce employed in the industry, followed by agriculture with 21.1% and industry with 20.2%.

“The labor market continues to demonstrate remarkable strength and resilience… This positive trend is driven by robust economic growth, particularly in construction; wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; and accommodation and food service activities sectors,” Mr. Laguesma added.

Source: Business World

DOLE poll: Many of 2.4-M jobless in 2021 had resigned

Resignation was the top reason for unemployment last year, according to a survey conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

In its Mission: Rebooting Eco­nomic Activities through Com­munity Engagement (RACE) pro­gram survey, DOLE said 85,045 of the over 2.39 million unemployed workers last year resigned from their work.

Meanwhile, the other most com­mon causes for unemployment were finished contracts (75,604), and being a fresh graduate (64,004).

Most of those who are looking for work, when RACE was con­ducted, were students (382,568), housewives (321,396), and senior citizens (87,093).

DOLE together with 286 local gov­ernment units (LGU) conducted the pilot of its RACE program from July to October 2021 as part of its prepa­ration for the implementation of the government’s National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS).

Over 4.67 million individu­als were profiled under RACE. Of which, the majority or around 1.42 million are junior high graduates, while only 799,673 were college graduates and 745,700 only com­pleted elementary education.

Among the profiled worker re­spondents, DOLE noted most or 2,098,951 sought livelihood pro­grams from the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC).

Another 1.33 million applied for skills training under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), while 769,586 sought employment facilitation from the Public Employment Ser­vice Office (PESO).

RACE also profiled 106,413 es­tablishments in August 2021. Of these, only 2,936 had vacancies for the said period.

The available employment op­portunities were from the whole­sale and retail of motor vehicles and motorcycles as well as accom­modation and food services activi­ties.

Source: Business Mirror