Jobless Filipinos hit 12.1M

[Retz]

Jobless Filipinos hit 12.1M



MANILA, Philippines—The number of unemployed Filipinos in the last quarter of 2013 swelled to more than 12 million, making the 7.2-percent growth in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year, considered the second-fastest after China, far from inclusive.

The unemployment rate rose to 27.5 percent, or an estimated 12.1 million individuals, as 2.5 million Filipinos joined the ranks of the jobless between September and December, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey found.

The level of joblessness across the country was almost 6 points higher than the 21.7 percent (some 9.6 million) in the previous quarter, results of the SWS survey conducted from Dec. 11 to 16 showed. The results were first published in BusinessWorld.

Nikka Policarpio, 19, who graduated from the University of Santo Tomas last year with a degree in journalism, is among the millions of unemployed.

Nearly a year after college, Policarpio is already in between jobs since she left her first job last month as a marketing communications specialist.

“I have been applying at different media companies for less than a month now… I want to take a rest before I start working again,” said Policarpio, who resigned from her nine-month stint with a cosmetics company because the low compensation did not match the heavy workload.

The high unemployment rate despite the high GDP growth may have contributed to the pessimistic outlook of Filipinos last December.

A survey by another polling outfit, Pulse Asia, found that 55 percent of Filipinos felt the national quality of life deteriorated in the past 12 months. They also expected the situation to remain the same for the whole of 2014.

Source: Jobless Filipinos hit 12.1M | Inquirer News

walang pagbabago....

[Monseratto]

There's always work in a another country. All the so-called "growth" BS Aquino likes to brag only benefitted a few.

[glenn_duke]

May "growth" naman, diba nag grow yung number ng unemployed.

[greenlyt]

There's always work in a another country. All the so-called "growth" BS Aquino likes to brag only benefitted a few.

at least may kaunting nag benefit eh nun panahon ni GMA siya lang ang nag benefit

[oliver1013]

Dumadami tao, hindi naman dumadami ang entrepreneur, ganun talaga.

Dapat talaga mga bata palang medyo dinidiin na o bine brainwash na ng mga skwelahan ang mga magaaral on entrepreneurship.

[Monseratto]

Kasalanan ni GMA...Throwing money to the poor won't create jobs...Ngayon lang napansin na kailangan ng manufacturing indusrty para may jobs pala. Yung problem is walang investment sa manufacturing.

CABINET PRESSED TO EXPLAIN
Aquino on rise in joblessness: What went wrong?
By Michael Lim Ubac, Jerome Aning Michelle V. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
2:35 am | Wednesday, February 12th, 2014

MANILA, Philippines—Baffled by the high unemployment rate, President Aquino on Tuesday quizzed the Cabinet on its “action plan for poverty reduction” as the benefits of a strong economy were eluding the country’s middle class and poor.

Aquino presided over a rare full Cabinet meeting that included Vice President Jejomar Binay in the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of Malacañang.

The meeting came after the media reported a finding of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey that the unemployment rate rose to 27.5 percent, or an estimated 12.1 million, as 2.5 million Filipinos joined the ranks of the jobless between September and December last year.

The unemployment rate soared even as the economy surprisingly grew 7.2 percent, the second-fastest after China’s, showing that the economic growth was not inclusive.

The unemployment rate was 6 percentage points higher than the 21.7 percent (some 9.6 million) in the previous quarter, according to the SWS survey.

Aquino “prayed for God’s guidance” at the start of the meeting, Malacañang said.

At press time, the Cabinet was still discussing the action plan as well as the “strategic framework of human development and poverty reduction,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a text message he sent to members of the media.
The action plan for poverty reduction is indispensable to the Aquino administration’s goal of “inclusive growth.” Poverty incidence in the country stood at 25.2 percent in 2012.

“We are focusing on job creation in manufacturing and more highly remunerative sectors,” Coloma said, when asked by reporters why, despite the strong capital inflows, the level of joblessness was growing.

Coloma said the conditional cash transfer program and programs of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) “have been expanded to ensure that children of most needy families become employable.”

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in a recent publication titled “Taking the Right Road to Inclusive Growth,” said the failure of the country to boost its industrial sector was a key reason why its economic growth remained far from being inclusive.

“The Philippine economy’s chronic problems of high unemployment, slow poverty reduction and low investment are reflections of the sluggish industrialization,” the ADB said.

Manufacturing

The ADB said the industrial sector, which included manufacturing, should be the one driving the economy to substantially reduce unemployment and poverty.

Growth of the Philippine economy over the past decade, however, has been driven by the service sector, which includes the business process outsourcing (BPO) subsector.

While the BPO sector in particular and the overall services sector in general have provided economic gains, these are not responsive to the need for inclusive growth.

According to the ADB, the industrial sector, compared with the service sector, has the better ability to create job opportunities for the poor. Also, the industrial sector has a much higher multiplier effect on the economy.

The ADB suggested more government support for the industrial sector through investments in education, skills training and infrastructure to achieve inclusive economic growth.

Economists’ take

Economists said it would take a while before the country’s economic growth would translate into significant drop in unemployment and poverty.

When an economy takes a high-growth trajectory, businesses do not immediately hire more workers. They only do so when they are convinced that robust economic growth is sustainable, said Victor Abola, an economics professor at the University of Asia and the Pacific.

“Initially, they (businesses) will just require existing workers to work overtime,” Abola told the Inquirer.

Benjamin Diokno, an economics professor at the University of the Philippines, said economic growth did not always equate to a drop in the unemployment rate. In the case of the Philippines, he said, many recent investments were capital-intensive but not labor-intensive.

“Most public and private construction can be characterized as large-scale, capital intensive. Even the multibillion-peso school-building program was implemented by big-time contractors using capital intensive or labor-saving technologies,” Diokno told the Inquirer.

Diokno said the Philippines needed to invest more in sectors that were labor-intensive and job-generating in order to see a drop in the unemployment rate.

Read more: Aquino on rise in joblessness: What went wrong? | Inquirer News
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[ClaNker]

Ok lang yan, di pa naman tayo over populated. Ang dami pang bakanteng lote sa Probinsya at parating masaya sa factory ng mga bata sa looban (squa-squa).

I don't think any reasonable person will believe that a 100M population is sustainable, not unless you're an idiot.

[Monseratto]

at least may kaunting nag benefit eh nun panahon ni GMA siya lang ang nag benefit

Those few who are benefitting now are the same characters who also benefitted from GMA...

[CVT]

Hello????

Matagal nang concern ng nasa Manufacturing iyan! Alam ng gobyerno iyan,- but they're looking the other way....

For desired mass employment of the cross section of our society,- manufacturing is the answer. BPO will mainly address only the employment of those who had some level of higher education,- so how could this pull the poorest of the poor out of their vicious cycle?

First,- liberal and consistent policy of the government in doing business in our country.

Second,- reduce the cost of electricity.

Third,- salary (but we have a floor number here....)




22.7K:boat:

[Altis6453]

What the government should realize is that doing business has become too expensive, even for the small entrepreneur:

1. Ask anyone who's had to deal with having to get a business permit and they'll recount to you all sorts of s#it they've had to put up with as far as having to get requirements done. Bottom line, you have to pay SOP in order to get a business permit which is more of the rule even if there's absolutely nothing wrong with your documents. Sa Barangay level pa lang hinuhuthutan na ng kapitan ang negosyante.

2. BIR changes its compliance requirements almost on a whim of the current Commissioner. Case in point: issuing a memorandum order changing the form of ORs given out by legitimate businesses and penalizing those who continue to use ORs which were previously stamped and approved by the BIR.

3. The frustratingly high cost of electricity.


With all that, how can you put up and maintain a business which will generate jobs? Eh di mag-money market ka na lang or play the stock market.