By Brian Jules Campued
The government will revisit the existing policy governing alternative work modes in order to address the growing preference of the labor force for remote work, National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said Thursday.
Underscoring the need to adapt to the evolving work landscape, Balisacan made the statement following the release of the latest Labor Force Survey results showing a downtrend in the unemployment rate in February 2024 at 3.5% from 4.5% in January.
“The government will explore enhancing the potential of part-time work to help promote lifelong learning. A framework for part-time work and similar set-ups can allow workers to retool or upskill without leaving the workforce,” he said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), this jobless rate corresponded to about 1.80 million adult Filipinos in February this year from the 2.15 million unemployed individuals in the previous month.
In a press briefing, National Statistician and PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa said the unemployment rate during the month was the second lowest on record since the 3.1% in December 2023.
Compared to the 4.8% in February 2023, Balisacan noted a decrease of 679,000 jobless individuals in February 2024.
The number of underemployed persons—or those who expressed the desire to have additional hours of work in their current job or to have a new job with longer hours of work—fell to 6.08 million from last year’s 6.29 million.
The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR), meanwhile, was logged at 64.8% or at least 50.75 million Filipinos aged 15 years and above who were either employed or unemployed.
This is lower than the 66.6% LFPR seen in the same month last year, with young people (-669,000) and women (-404,000) withdrawing from the labor force.
“The needs of vulnerable groups, including women, youth, older people, and those with disabilities, remain our priority to encourage workforce participation. We will improve access to quality childcare, finance, and entrepreneurship opportunities to support women’s entry and retention in the labor market,” Balisacan said.
The employment rate, on the other hand, rose to 96.5% in February from 95.5% in January and 95.2% during the same month last year.
Based on PSA data, this corresponded to about 48.95 million employed persons in February, higher than the registered number of employed individuals in February 2023 at 48.80 million and in January 2024 at 45.94 million.
The top five industries with the largest increase in employment are: construction (470,000), transportation and storage (444,000), administrative and support service activities (344,000), manufacturing (313,000), and accommodation and food service activities (210,000).
The NEDA said the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. remains committed to prioritizing people-centered policies and attracting job-creating investments to support the continued improvement of the Philippine labor market and enable Filipinos to earn higher wages from better jobs.
“The government remains resolute in creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment to attract employment-generating investments. We will also continue to implement measures to address bottlenecks and expedite processes to realize investment pledges, particularly in priority sectors holding much promise, such as renewable energy and critical minerals,” said Balisacan.
He also said the Inter-Agency Investment Promotion Coordination Committee is currently coordinating the formulation of the medium- and long-term Foreign Investment Promotion and Marketing Plan.
The government, likewise, continues to push for the passage of various bills to help develop soft and hard skills among workers and create a more agile and adaptive workforce such as Apprenticeship Bill, Lifelong Learning Bill, and Enterprise Productivity Act.
Meanwhile, the formulation of the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) plan will begin following the recent issuance of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the TPB Act.
“We also recognize that the fast-tracked implementation of the government’s infrastructure flagship projects, housing program, and recovery of the tourism sector contributed to positive employment outcomes,” Balisacan said. – avds
