Labor sector airs concern over unemployment rate

Government efforts against illegal forms of contractualization may have finally started making their dent in the country’s underemployed persons, according to a labor group.

In a phone interview, Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) spokesperson Alan Tanjusay attributed the recent significant decline in underemployment rate to the new wage increases and President Duterte’s position against illegal contractualization.

“The reduction in underemployment is probably because many employers became afraid of President Duterte’s statement (on contractualization) so they regularized their workers,” Tanjusay said.

Ever since his presidential campaign, Duterte has repeatedly stated his position against contractualization.

Last June, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) projected an improvement in the LFS after it implemented its Department Order 174, which further restricted the practice of contractualization.

DO 174 complemented DOLE’s ongoing drive against illegal forms of contractualization, which started in 2016, upon the instruction of Duterte.

Latest data from DOLE showed the campaign already benefitted 125,352 contractual workers.

Based on the October Labor Force Survey (LFS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), underemployment rate dropped to 15.9 percent from 18 percent in the same period last year.

The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) attributed this to the government’s additional job fairs and livelihood assistance program.

PSA defines underemployed persons as those who express the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or an additional job, or have a new job with longer working hours.

Unemployment concerns

Despite the improvement in underemployment rate, Tanjusay expressed concern over the unemployment rate in the October LFS, which slightly grew to 5 percent from 4.7 percent in the same period in 2016.

“The lowering of employment rate and the rise in the unemployment is a signal to President Duterte to seriously create the environment for new and permanent jobs-creating investments to come in and do business here,” Tanjusay said.

Partido Manggagawa (PM) national chair Renato Magtubo also raised the same concern and said the administration should focus in reviving other industries aside from those considered as key employment generators.

“The survey shows that employment generators of the economy— the BPO (business process outsourcing), tourism, construction, and retail and trade industries—cannot cope up with the rising number of persons entering the labor force, as such a rise (manifested) in the unemployment rate,” Magtubo said in a text message.

“Government should put more effort (policies, programs and services) aimed at reviving local manufacturing industries as well as modernizing agriculture to sustain generation of suitable employment,” he added.

Tanjusay warned more people will suffer from poverty if Duterte fails to address the increasing unemployment rate after six months, in time for the entry of thousands of graduating college students in the workforce. (Samuel Medenilla)