Job generation

THE PHILIPPINE Statistics Authority reported an 18.1% poverty incidence or 19.99 million Filipinos who consider themselves poor in 2021. It further bared a 7.8% unemployment rate for 2021, equivalent to 3.71 million jobless Filipinos.

To address the high poverty incidence, the government must provide long-term solutions for job generation. It should ensure that there are quality job opportunities for Filipinos so they can escape poverty. These should be sustainable jobs with income enough to feed families and provide their basic needs. The longer they are unemployed, the poorer they get.

In the Senate, bill has been filed seeking to institutionalize the government’s National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) and expand it to be the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) to address the issue of unemployment.

The NERS initially planned to create up to two million jobs by the end of 2022, and has generated one million jobs as of the end of 2021 according to then Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez last May.

We should follow through beyond this short-term strategy which ends this year. We need a systemic and long-term solution for job generation to beat the system of long-term poverty in the country.

Senate Bill No. 129 or the Trabaho Para sa Lahat ng Pilipino Act stimulates national and local growth and development through investment incentives linked to the creation of more decent employment to address unemployment, underemployment, and rising precarity and informality of work arrangements.

It also aims to promote the employability, competitiveness, wellness, and productivity of workers through efficient and effective delivery of skills development and enhancement programs, and maximization of opportunities in the labor market in a post-COVID-19 world.

The proposed measure will also help micro, small and medium enterprises to provide support and incentives and ensure the security and preservation of employment.

The Marcos administration’s target of reducing poverty by 9% by the end of six years is possible as long as there are quality jobs available.  By addressing unemployment, we are on the right track to reduce poverty.