DOLE seeks better alliance with private sector to boost Filipino employment security
By Trixee Rosel
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it will initiate more collaboration with the private and business sectors to boost quality employment securities for Filipinos in the country.
In a statement, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said that he intends to enhance more partnership with employers to effectively reduce unemployment and underemployment rates.
"Bahagi ng nasabing plano ang patuloy at higit na pagpapalakas ng partnership at collaboration sa mga namumuhunan, business organizations, at mga development partners tulad ng International Labor Organizations (One aspect of the plan involves consistently strengthening and deepening alliances and cooperation with investors, business organizations, and development allies such as the International Labour Organization)," said Laguesma.
"Ito ay upang makakalap ang DOLE ng batayang impormasyon tungo sa tamang polisiya at makakuha ng technical assistance upang magawa ang mga angkop na programa at proyekto (This will enable DOLE to collect key data for effective policy-making and access technical support for implementing suitable initiatives and undertakings)," he furthered.
Laguesma released the statement after the February 2024 Labor Force Survey which showed the unemployment rate dropping to 3.5 percent from 4.5 percent in January 2024.
The LFS for February 2024 also revealed a 12.4 percent underemployment rate, which is lower than the 13.9 percent underemployment rate in January 2024.
Laguesma expressed their approval of the February 2024 LFS results, highlighting the positive trend in the country's employment landscape.
"Ang resulta ay nagbibigay-lakas at inspirasyon sa amin upang higit pang pag-ibayuhin at pagbutihin ang implementasyon ng mga programa ng DOLE (The results motivate and encourage us to continue and improve the execution of DOLE initiatives)," said Laguesma.
He said they anticipate that the improvement will continue in the succeeding LFS results.
"Sana magtuloy-tuloy ang pagbaba ng bilang ng kulang o walang trabaho at dumami pa ang may matatag, maayos at disenteng trabaho (We hope for a sustained decline in the number of jobless or underemployed individuals and for the growth of those with secure, decent, and dignified employment)," said Laguesma.