By Brian Jules Campued
The government remains committed to sustaining the “positive momentum” of the labor market and generate better quality jobs for Filipinos amid the decline in the unemployment rate in May 2024 compared to the same month last year, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Monday.
In its latest Labor Force Survey, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported the country’s jobless rate dropped to 4.1% or about 2.11 million individuals in May 2024 from 4.3% or about 2.17 million in May 2023.
However, the PSA noted that the said number was higher than the 2.04 million jobless individuals in April 2024.
On the other hand, the employment rate rose to 95.9% from May 2023’s 95.7%. This is equivalent to 48.87 million employed Filipinos from 48.26 million in May last year.
The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) was registered at 64.8%, or about 50.97 million Filipinos aged 15 years and above who were in the labor force.
According to NEDA Sec. Arsenio Balisacan, the increase in the country’s total employment for May 2024 is due to the expansion in the industry and services sectors.
The top sub-sectors which recorded an increase in terms of the number of employed persons in May are: construction (745,000), administrative and support service activities (371,000), manufacturing (347,000), and transportation and storage (292,000).
Balisacan said the growth in construction and manufacturing sub-sectors could also be attributed to the implementation of several flagship programs and projects under the Marcos administration.
“The government’s massive infrastructure drive and the implementation of the Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino (4PH) program have led to a rise in demand for construction workers and materials, resulting in a significant increase in job opportunities in these sectors,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the agriculture sector lost 1.6 million jobs (agriculture and forestry, -1.02 million; fishing and aquaculture, -543,000) due to the impact of El Niño and Typhoon Aghon, while geopolitical tensions in the West Philippine Sea negatively affected fishing activities in the area.
The NEDA chief added that digital technologies could help enhance public sector employment facilitation services and training programs as well as improve skills forecasting in policy planning and programming.
“We must persist in our efforts to boost investments and implement key technological and innovative reforms to enhance productivity and create more high-quality employment opportunities,” he said.
Balisacan added that the government is taking several measures to sustain the country’s robust labor market trend, which includes the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) Plan set to be finalized by the end of the year.
“Since June, we have been conducting public consultations for the TPB Plan across all regions in the country. We want to involve both employers and workers in understanding how various changes in the economy, society, and the environment have been affecting the world of work and how the different labor market actors have been adjusting to the changes,” he said.
“The key is to identify effective and efficient solutions to their challenges, and may continue to encounter,” he added. – av
