Three out of every 100 Filipinos of working age are unemployed. This is actually an improvement from the last three or four years, when unemployment reached more than 10 percent during the pandemic.
But the unemployment rate is higher at seven percent for the youth (15-24 years old), and even higher for young women at 8.2 percent.
While government wants to paint a beautiful picture of employment, the reality is that it is still a major concern especially for the youth sector.
Latest surveys by Social Weather Stations and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that half of all Filipinos consider themselves “poor” while seven out of 10 say they have “no savings”. We wonder how they get by.
The Philippines recorded about 50 million employed individuals as of January this year. Of the number, only about 67 percent are wage and salary workers, mostly from small private establishments — half of which are unable to provide the government-mandated wages.
Studies have also shown that some 1.5 million Filipinos are engaged in “gigs” or short-term, flexible jobs, often facilitated through digital platforms, allowing them to take on various tasks or projects. Gig workers do not earn paid holidays nor sick leave, and experience fluctuating wages.
I had the opportunity of working with our Overseas Foreign Workers when I was posted at the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices in Italy and in the Middle East. I have met many ‘run-aways’ at the Bahay Kalinga who were victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking, forced to go underground because they could not find quality jobs in the Philippines.
Truth to tell, the government overseas employment program has unfortunately produced not a few dysfunctional families. A number of OFWs have reported to me about having unfaithful spouses or their kids becoming social misfits.
If you noticed, whenever the head of state travels to other countries, reports on the success of his visit are almost always measured by the amount of investment commitments generated from foreign businessmen. Sadly, a lot of these commitments do not even translate to actual jobs for the unemployed.
Why do many of our Filipino youth remain unemployed? It could be because most youth do not have the financial means to get a college degree; although we have also heard stories of degree holders having a tough time finding jobs.
Studies revealed that adult joblessness is highest among college graduates at 25.6 percent, followed by junior high school graduates at 19.1 percent, then by elementary graduates at 14.5 percent, and non-elementary graduates at 3.1 percent.
Also, unemployment is influenced by factors such as rapid population growth and increased labor force participation, which have outpaced employment growth.
The agriculture sector lost 1.6 million jobs due to the impact of El Niño and typhoons, while geopolitical tensions in the West Philippine Sea negatively affected fishing activities in the area. This is now aggravated by calamities caused by climate change.
As early as 2010, the Department of Labor and Employment noted that the economy was faced with 2.9 million unemployed Filipinos, 51 percent of whom were in their youth — indicative of the country’s unemployment trend, and the underutilization of this vast manpower resource.
The youth, however, remain largely an unstudied group. In response to the issue, social scientists conducted a study on youth employment in the Philippines to provide policy-makers with the needed data, and recommended the prioritization of the government’s youth agenda by providing quality education and training.
This recommendation is also reinforced by the National Economic and Development Authority when it highlighted that decent jobs for Filipinos can be achieved if the mismatch between skills and labor market demands is addressed.
Important skill mismatches have been identified among vocational school programs, tertiary education, and the labor market requirements, further contributing to the school-to-work transition issues and youth unemployment.
In my experience in several Mindanao and Visayas regions, and as head of the Bureau of Local Employment, the greatest challenge is good education and training with investment or job-generation programs.
The problem of youth unemployment cannot be solved by a series of mega job fairs. If the discrepancy between education/skills and industry needs is not resolved, the problem of mismatch would simply fester. Results of regular job fairs all over the country for more than a decade has proven this finding.
We need improvements in the general education and training programs of the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education & Skills Development Authority that would impact on the total labor force.
From K-12 to the Matatag curricula up to the proposed revisions by the new leadership at DepEd, hopes to find the answers to the question of youth unemployment would continue to pose a challenge.
As International Labor Organization Deputy Director-General for Policy Martha Newton said, “What young people need most is well-functioning labor markets with decent job opportunities for those participating in the labor market, along with quality education and training opportunities for those yet to enter it.”
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