More than 450,000 new jobs in the construction sector were created and expected to increase as the government fast-tracks the implementation of mega projects under the Build, Build, Build program of the Duterte administration, the Department of Labor and Employment said.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said at least 468,000 jobs were generated in the construction sector based on a Labor Force Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority in April 2018.
The infrastructure projects under the government's Build Build Build program, which will cost P8-P9 trillion from 2017 to 2022, would likely create two-million more construction jobs, Bello said in citing the report of the Department of Trade and Industry.
He said the government’s massive infrastructure program, Build Build Build, is expected to generate an average of 1.1-million jobs annually in the medium term, owing to the government’s hefty spending on infrastructure development projects.
“We are elated with the strong performance of the construction sector. In April 2018, total employment in the sector reached 4.012 million from 3.544 million during the same period in 2017. This is a 13.2-percent increase,” Bello said.
"Construction is the largest contributor to employment among the industry subsectors during the period and we believe the Build Build Build infrastructure program is the main driver of growth,” Bello added.
Meanwhile, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said that the “Build Build Build is gaining momentum at an unprecedented rate,” noting that more jobs were generated during the first two years of the Duterte administration compared to five years prior.
“In the first quarter of 2018, the Gross Value Added in Construction is at 9.3 percent,” he added.
“Build Build Build is Jobs Jobs Jobs. This is providing life to our nation. Unemployment has already decreased to 5.5 percent from 5.7 percent, year-on-year. We expect this figure to shrink further,” he said.
On Aug. 12, the Build Build Build team will launch Jobs Jobs Jobs at the SMX Convention Center from 8:30 am. to 4:30 pm.
