RESULTS of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) for August this year showed the number of employed persons increased, but employment data indicated that the quality of jobs were low.
Employed Filipinos increased to 48.07 million – up from 44.63 million in July and also higher than the 47.87 million persons with jobs or livelihoods in August 2022, LFS data showed.
This translates to an employment rate of 95.6 percent, higher than the 95.2 percent rate in July and the 94.7 percent in the same period last year.
At a press briefing yesterday, National Statistician and Philippine Statistics Authority chief Claire Dennis Mapa, however, admitted that “hindi ganun kataas ang quality of jobs (the quality of jobs were not that good).”
This, as the number of self-employed and unpaid family workers saw significant increases against the increase in wage and salary workers.
“Sa wages and salary workers slight ang galaw. Malaking increase ay sa self-employed at unpaid family workers,” Mapa said.
(The increase in wages and salary workers was slight. The huge increase was in self-employed and unpaid family workers.)
In particular, unpaid family workers grew to 3.84 million in August from 1.99 million in July. Unpaid family workers account for 8 percent of the total employed.
The PSA defines an unpaid family worker as a person who works without pay on own family-operated farm or business by another member living in the same household.
Self-employed individuals, on the other hand, increased to 13.14 million from 11.25 million in July. The workers group accounts for 27.3 percent of total employed.
Meanwhile, wage and salary workers, which account for 62.6 percent of total employed, marginally to 30.07 million from 29.99 million in the prior month.
Moreover, the number of middle- and high-skilled occupations decreased by 354,000, while low-skilled occupations increased by 551,000 year-on-year.
At a press chat in Pasay City, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) secretary Arsenio Balisacan also said the government is committed to the “creation of high quality jobs, jobs that give everyone a decent pay.”
However, he said that creation of high quality jobs “will take time.”
“High quality jobs will not be created overnight,” the NEDA chief said.
The country’s chief economist said the Marcos administration’s economic team is luring investors to invest in the country as investments will eventually create high quality jobs.
“To raise the quality of employment further, the Marcos administration is committed to exerting all efforts to shape an attractive business climate for investors who have the resources needed to bring in high-quality and high-paying jobs,” Balisacan said. (GMA Integrated News)
