econ

Employment rate grows by 2.8 percent — NEDA

By SAMUEL P. MEDENILLA

December 28, 2010, 6:20pm

MANILA, Philippines – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported Tuesday a 2.8 percent year-on-year growth in employment ending October 2010 as unemployment remained on an even keel at 7.1 percent.  Socio-economic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director General Cayetano Paderanga, Jr. traced the slight improvement in employment rate to the good economic performance of the country. The latest Labor Force Survey ending October 2010 indicated that employment figures generally improved as job creation reached 983,000; unemployment rate was lower at 7.3 percent compared to 7.5 percent in 2009, and underemployment rate improved to 18.7 percent from the 19.1 percent of last year.“The inching up in employment rate and the reduction in underemployment is largely on the account of improvement economic conditions,” Paderanga said, adding that the government expectation is for employment rate to improve further due to the continuing economic recovery in the coming year.“With the continued improvement in the level of confidence for the Philippines amid a still fragile and vulnerable world economy, the government should take advantage of this opportunity to implement the necessary reforms that would greatly contribute to the creation of more decent and quality employment for Filipinos,” he added.   The growth in employment for the period in review was mainly attributed to the expansion in the services and industry sectors. Majority of employed persons, around 51.7 percent out of the estimated 36.5 million, were in the services sector. The industry sector, similarly recorded a growth at 4.2 percent in October. This as the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) disclosed that deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) dropped from an average of four percent to three percent during the first half of the year due to the effects of the global economic crisis. “During the release of our preliminary figure from January to October we forecasted lower figures, which we based from earlier trend during the time when some countries are still reeling from the effects of the global economic crisis,” POEA Officer-in-charge Stella Banawis said.  Aside from the global economic crisis, Banawis said increasing competition from workers from other South East Asian countries  like Indonesia and the implementation of the Republic Act 10022 or the Amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Act of 1995 last November also contributed to the lower deployment of OFWs. Like the NEDA director-general, Banawis expected an increase in deployment rate offshore with some countries slowly recovering from the economic slump, citing South Korea and United Arab Emirates, which showed a slight increase in OFW employment. However, she said deployment of OFWs eventually picked up at during the last quarter, which she attributed to the rise in the production in export-driven countries like Taiwan, which employed Filipino workers, for the holiday season.

Reaction

            My reaction in this article was happy because the rates of the employment in the Philippines were improved and because of this result many Filipinos are suffered convenient life style.

            As today, the price of goods is increase. As a consumer we need to work hard enough in order for us to buy the goods the we need for our daily use.  If there is job, more people are suffered poverty. It is important to have job, for us to buy things that we needs.

            When I rode this article, I am glad that the economies of the Philippines are increase because of the action of our government. And many foreigners were likely invest in our country and because of this, there are so many jobs will be open. In this little action, and slowly move. Our country can compete in terms of economic ways to the other big country like Japan, China, USA and many more. There are possibilities that all the credits of the Philippines will be paid. And the Philippines will be the next number one riches country in the whole world.

            I can recommend that as a person we need to do our very best to improve our life, even in a simple way. The best way of it is to stop corruption. Because of that problem, our country now was so down. In past decades, our country is one of the riches country but now it was one of the poorest country, all of this is all fault of corruption. If we stop it, most probably our country will improve and no more poverty. 

MARIA KIMBERLY MENDOZA 

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