Villanueva welcomes further easing of PH unemployment rate
Published Jun 9, 2023 09:52 am
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on Friday, June 9, welcomed the further easing of the unemployment rate at 4.5 percent, or 2.26 million Filipinos in April 2023, compared to March’s 4.7 precent or 2.42 million unemployed Filipinos.
Senator Joel Villanueva (Senate PRIB Photo)
"However, we still have a long way to go from providing permanent solutions to the employment woes in the country, especially now that we are expecting an additional 1.5 million Filipinos to join the workforce this year," he said. Villanueva said underemployment rate from 11.2 percent or 5.44 million Filipinos in March to 12.9 percent or 6.2 million Filipinos in April is also a cause of concern on the alignment of the skills of our workforce with the needs of the industry. Job gains remain to stem from the services sector (wholesale and retail, accommodation and food services and administrative and support services), while job loss is noted in key industries for economic transformation, such as in agriculture and forestry, manufacturing and construction, he pointed out. "Seasonality of employment must also be addressed continuously. For this reason, it is important that we have a comprehensive employment master plan which would synergize the efforts of all concerned government agencies to address employment woes like job-skills mismatch and training," he explained. Villanueva said that before the adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress sine die, the Senate was able to pass the "Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act" on third reading. Currently, the measure is pending at the House of Representatives awaiting to be sponsored in plenary. "We are hopeful that the measure will be prioritized by the House of Representatives once the session opens in July so that we keep the ground running on our employment master plan," Villanueva stressed.
Senator Joel Villanueva (Senate PRIB Photo)
"However, we still have a long way to go from providing permanent solutions to the employment woes in the country, especially now that we are expecting an additional 1.5 million Filipinos to join the workforce this year," he said. Villanueva said underemployment rate from 11.2 percent or 5.44 million Filipinos in March to 12.9 percent or 6.2 million Filipinos in April is also a cause of concern on the alignment of the skills of our workforce with the needs of the industry. Job gains remain to stem from the services sector (wholesale and retail, accommodation and food services and administrative and support services), while job loss is noted in key industries for economic transformation, such as in agriculture and forestry, manufacturing and construction, he pointed out. "Seasonality of employment must also be addressed continuously. For this reason, it is important that we have a comprehensive employment master plan which would synergize the efforts of all concerned government agencies to address employment woes like job-skills mismatch and training," he explained. Villanueva said that before the adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress sine die, the Senate was able to pass the "Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act" on third reading. Currently, the measure is pending at the House of Representatives awaiting to be sponsored in plenary. "We are hopeful that the measure will be prioritized by the House of Representatives once the session opens in July so that we keep the ground running on our employment master plan," Villanueva stressed.