NEDA report shows that more Filipino workers now have better quality jobs

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos are getting better quality jobs. This is what the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said upon releasing its latest employment figures.

“Employment figures for October 2014 revealed that better quality jobs were generated and unemployment dropped to its lowest in 10 years,” NEDA director general Arsenio M. Balisacan noted.

Results of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) indicate that approximately 1.05 million jobs were generated in October 2014; with the number of employed Filipinos reaching 38.8 million (an increase of 2.80 percent from 37.8 million in the same period last year.)

“With the broad-based growth in employment, we are provided an optimistic outlook on the country’s economic performance in the fourth quarter of 2014,” Balisacan said, pointing out that all major sectors reported higher employment rates in 2014.

The director general likewise pointed out the labor force participation rate (LFPR) grew from 63.9 percent in October 2013 to 64.3 percent in October 2014, which translates to around 925,000 more laborers entering the work force, causing the labor market to grow to around 41.3 million workers.

“The consistently high LFPR for the past three quarters sends a strong signal that more Filipinos are encouraged to join the labor force. This could largely be attributed to the momentum created by the strong economic growth performance over the past four years,” Balisacan said.

The report was not all roses, however, as underemployment – which refers to those who are employed, but are still in need of further employment and more work – increased to an estimated 7.3 million workers, which marks an 18.7-percent increase as against last year’s 18-percent..

In this regard, Balisacan stressed: “Challenges to uplift the quality of employment across sectors remain. Hence, the government needs to sustain the implementation of multidimensional approach to raise investments, particularly in the rural areas, and improve productivity as well as income per capita in the country. It is also important to encourage income diversification and labor mobility in and out of agriculture.”