Philippines Labor Market Faces Dual Challenge: Quality and Quantity of Jobs

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Wednesday said the results of the latest labor force survey demonstrated the “resilience” of the country’s labor market while highlighting the need for better quality jobs. “The challenge before us is no longer simply creating jobs. We must create quality jobs that provide decent incomes, encourage productivity, and prepare Filipinos for the jobs of tomorrow,” acting Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said in a statement. “This is the direction that the Department is pursuing as we strengthen our education-to-employment pipeline and build a future-ready workforce,” Tolentino said after the Philippine Statistics Authority released its latest Labor Force Survey. The Dole noted that the number of employed Filipinos increased by approximately 740,000, up from 48.89 million in April to 49.63 million in May. The underemployment rate also declined by 12.2 percent, with around 1.16 million fewer underemployed workers seeking additional work or longer working hours, it said. According to Dole, these improvements came from “sustained government interventions to improve job quality, strengthen workforce competitiveness, and expand employment opportunities” amid prevailing global and domestic economic uncertainties. The unemployment rate, at the same time, increased to 4.8 percent in May, equivalent to 2.50 million unemployed Filipinos, from the 3.9 percent or 2.03 million recorded in the same period last year. For labor group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro), the results of the survey “offer little reason to celebrate,” noting that the employment rate went down to 95.2 percent in May compared to 96.1 percent in the same period last year. Sentro also pointed out that most of the newly created jobs came from industries “where contractual and project-based work remains widespread,” including accommodation and food services, administrative and support services and construction sectors. “This is the same old story. The numbers may shift from month to month, but the structure of our labor market remains unchanged,” Sentro secretary general Josua Mata said in a statement. “The economy continues to generate jobs that are insecure, low-quality, and unable to provide workers and their families with lasting economic security,” he added. The group called on the government to “stop measuring success by headline labor statistics alone” and pursue reforms by “investing in robust public employment programs and adopting a genuine industrial policy that creates stable, productive and well-paying jobs.” For its part, Dole said it would seek to improve the country’s workforce through initiatives such as providing labor education for graduating students, expanding its nationwide job fairs and enhancing partnerships with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority. It also aims to improve the administration of labor justice with the creation of a proposed labor attorney’s office and a national academy for labor justice. /