SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – A top official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said the agency’s job-generation programs have lowered the unemployment rate in Central Luzon.

Citing figures from the Department of Labor and Employment’s Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said the region’s unemployment rate decreased from 11.5 percent in 2007 to 9.4 percent in July this year.

Central Luzon’s underemployment figures went down from 14.1 percent in 2007 to 9.2 percent in July.

“I think our efforts to minimize labor gaps are now gradually paying off,” Arreza said, noting that the SBMA administration’s efforts are not only aimed at attracting new investments but also addressing labor issues in the area vital to the businesses here.

Job matching

Arreza said the agency is accomplishing this by facilitating regional dialogues to address unemployment, and promoting skills matching and industrial peace in the region.

Since 2005, the SBMA has been forging links with DOLE, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Agency, Public Employment Service Office and the Regional Development Council to start a series of conferences on job-skills mismatch to help address labor concerns in Central Luzon.

The services sector continues to represent the largest segment of Subic’s workforce, comprising 36,012 workers or 43.17 percent.

Latest SBMA data showed that shipbuilding and maritime-related industries now employ 26,438 or 31.69 percent of the workers in Subic.

The maritime sector is followed by the manufacturing sector, with 14,804 workers or 17.74 percent; and construction, 5,628 workers or 6.75 percent.

Services

The rest of the workforce is composed mostly of domestic helpers and caretakers.

Arreza said the entry of big tourism projects would most likely keep the services sector as the leading employer here in the next few years.

“Subic is basically service-oriented, so as more industries locate here – whether in maritime or manufacturing sectors – we expect a corresponding increase in jobs in the services sector,” he said.
Aside from Neocove, a high-end resort complex to be built by a Korean-led consortium, nine other new investors this year would also be labor-intensive, he said.