COME TO THINK of it, there does not seem to be a credible and reliable data about unemployment.
I am basing that observation on the fact that all social data should be gathered from below, and not fabricated from the top.
Therefore, it would actually be correct to say that the data from below should be gathered by the local government units (LGUs), possibly down to the barangay level.
And in addition to that, there should be nationally accepted standards as to how unemployment should be measured, again all the way down to the barangay level. For example, there should be a clear understanding of what is meant by being underemployed.
As it is now, underemployed generally means not being able to work for at least eight hours a day, but my late brother Ambassador Roy Seneres who was Chairman of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) told me that underemployed means working in a job that is below one’s qualifications.
As it is supposed to be, the unemployment rate is supposed to be a subset of the total labor force, and therefore it goes without saying that to begin with, the actual size of the labor force should be clearly defined, and it is very clear that only the LGUs could do that.
Logically speaking, it could be said that the total labor force should only include those who are employable, meaning to say that job seekers would have some employable skill or the other.
It could also be said that those who are not seeking unemployment should no longer be counted in the labor force, but that is really debatable, because I think that even those who are not seeking employment could actually be wanting employment if they are given the chance, to work either on a part time or full-time basis, including opportunities to be self-employed.
Does it necessarily mean that all those earning wages above the minimum wage are necessarily above the poverty level?
Right now, I do not know the answer to that, but I think that that should be the case that all those who are earning above the minimum wage should already be above the poverty level, otherwise the minimum wage should be increased so that all those who are employed should no longer be poor.
That may sound too naive for me to say, but I am just engaging in a play of words, because all those who are above the poverty line should no longer be considered poor, at least by definition. (To be continued)/PN
