THE unemployment rate in the Philippines increased to 5.2 percent in the last quarter of 2017 from 4.7 percent in the comparable period of 2016.
But the Department of Labor and Employment vowed to address the long-standing problem of unemployment and end the illegal practice of labor contracting, among other problems in the labor sector.
The DoLE said unemployed Filipino youth still accounted for more than half of the Philippines’ jobless sector.
Some 1.560-million Filipino youth who belong to the 18-24 age bracket were jobless, according to the Philippine Statistical Authority’s Labor Force Survey.
The unemployment rate in 2017 was estimated at 5.2 percent. on rights of indigenous peoples, and Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, special rapporteur on internally displaced persons, in a statement from Geneva.We urge the Philippines to observe its obligations under international law to protect the human rights of indigenous peoples, including in the context of armed conflict,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpus, special rapporteur Among the regions with high unemployment are Ilocos Region , National Capital Region, Caraga and Calabarzon.
The number of unemployed persons went up by 148,000 to 2.19 million while the number of employed fell by 134,000 to 40.55 million, the DoLE said.
Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate decreased to 62.1 percent from 63.6 percent.
Among employed persons, workers in the services sector made up 57.0 percent of the total, followed by those in the agriculture sector (25.0 percent) and industry (18.1 percent).
Unemployment Rate in Philippines averaged 8.51 percent from 1994 until 2017, reaching an all time high of 13.90 percent in the first quarter of 2000 and a record low of 4.70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016.
To address unemployment, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that in 2018, youth employment facilitation would further get a big boost as the amended Special Program for the Employment of Students of the Department of Labor and Employment has expanded its benefits and coverage.
Bello said Republic Act 10917 would not only help poor but deserving students and out of school youth finish their education but also engage them in a viable employment-bridging program.
“Under the SPES law, we will not only be serving poor but deserving students and out-of-school youth, but also dependents of displaced workers, and would-be displaced workers due to business closures or work stoppages, or natural calamities, who intend to enroll in any secondary, tertiary or technical-vocational institutions,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bello said the number of Filipinos who have worked abroad in 2017 reached over 1.2 million, with land-based workers still accounting for the bulk of deployed workers with 1,058,029, while seafarers made up the remaining 223,477.
Although there are more than 1.2-million overseas Filipino workers deployed from January to November this year, the Philippine government repatriated nearly 1.2-million OFWs, many of them affected by continuous conflict in the Middle East.
But the Labor department claimed majority of the repatriated were provided reintegration assistance in 2017.
Bello said a total 1,170,514 OFWs received welfare and protection programs, including reintegration and repatriation services from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
For those looking for jobs, the department said close to 140,000 vacancies in the business process outsourcing were filled up.
The labor chief said the employment’s internet-based job and applicant matching system showed that in all months of 2017, the position of call center agent topped the list of job openings, with the months of August and September churning out the highest number of vacancies at 21,986 and 21,858, respectively.
A total 133, 300 call center agent positions were recorded by PhilJobnet from January to December 2017.
DoLE’s Bureau of Local Employment reported that the top 20 vacancies in the DOLE job portal were Call Center Agent-781, Office Clerk-756, Service Crew-756, Non-formal Education Teacher-359, Food Service Dispatcher-300, Salesman-295, Health Consultant-200, Staff nurse-159, and Production/Factory Worker-150.
Rounding up the top vacancies are Sales and Marketing Assistant-130, Company Nurse-128, Market Salesperson-122, Sales Associate Professional-100, Cashier-98, Truck Driver-97, Facial/Skin Treatment Consultant-96, Quality Inspector-94, and Casino Dealer-90.
The positions of Food Service Dispatcher, along with Health Consultant, Market Salesperson, Cashier, Truck Driver, Quality Inspector, and Casino Dealer are the new active vacancies recorded by PhilJobnet during the holiday season.