'Stimulus urgently needed to create more jobs'

• Published date: 09 February 2023
• Publication title: Business Mirror

Given the latest labor data and recent economic developments, local economists on Wednesday said they are not confident that job prospects in the Philippines will improve in the coming months.

On Wednesday, the PSA data showed there were 2.2 million Filipinos who were unemployed and 6.2 million who were considered underemployed in December. (Full story here: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/02/08/2-2-million-unemployed-6-2-million-underemployed-labor-force-survey/)

In an email, former Labor Undersecretary Rene Ofreneo told the BusinessMirror that foreign direct investments (FDI) could generate jobs but the recent pledges received from the President's foreign trips may not be forthcoming.

'After the Christmas season and revenge spending last year by the repressed Covid consumers, there might indeed be a slowdown, lalo na't walang bagong stimulus tulad ng elections. Agriculture continues to shrink,' Ofreneo said.

He said the Marcos administration must implement some 'bold investment mobilization measures,' such as asking top businesses to help raise government revenues.

This, he said, could be done through at least one-off taxation as recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and asking them to invest on job-generating projects in industry and agriculture.

'Wala pa naman tayong nakikitang concrete expression ng mga FDI pledges sa mga byahe ng Pangulo. Wala ring prospect for job creation this year under the Maharlika [Investment Fund],' Ofreneo added.

Ateneo de Manila University's Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr. said, however, that jobs in the services sector and in Metro Manila could become available for Filipino workers.

Lanzona cautioned that job generation in other sectors and regions could remain weak. This would also be affected by poor conditions due to the overall changes in technology.

'Government needs to focus on upskilling and improving the quality of education. Agriculture and industry should also be supported since this is where the relatively unskillled workers may still be employed,' he said.

Unpaid family workers

Meanwhile, amid the return of the country's employment data to pre-pandemic levels, over 400,000 Filipinos became unpaid family workers in December 2022, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The data also showed the number of unpaid family workers increased by 420,000 to 4.28 million in December 2022 from 3.86 million in December 2021.

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