PSAC bares measures to reduce unemployment in PH

MANILA, Philippines — An advisory council vowed to continuously conduct initiatives that will boost local employment despite the decreased unemployment rate in the country.

According to the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Jobs Sector Group led by SM Investments Corp., their group will still help in alleviating the underemployment and unemployment challenges faced by many Filipinos, even though the unemployment rate has reportedly dropped to 3.1 percent in December 2023 from the preceding month’s 3.6 percent.

READ: Jobs in the Philippines: Quantity over quality?

This translates to 1.60 million unemployed Filipinos in December 2023, down from 1.83 million in November.

“We all know that there [are] employment challenges: underemployment and unemployment. Although unemployment today has become 3.1 percent na lang. So, while this is improving, we continue our work,” PSAC Jobs Sector representative Teresita Sy-Coson, Vice Chairperson of SM Investments Corp., told President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in a meeting on Thursday.

“Which is looking into the limited job opportunities for a growing population, job and skills mismatch, and also job distribution imbalance due to geographic and economic factors. We are looking to reduce unemployment through job matching and enhancing employability through job upskilling and bridging the job distribution,” she added.

PSAC also said that it supports certification programs and courses as well as collaborations with various industries and government agencies, particularly the Department of Labor and Employment and the Public Employment Service Office, to bring job opportunities closer to the public.

“Both of them are very cooperative in our job fair. We have since we accelerated two months ago, more than 450 companies and over 5,000 job seekers have participated with about 18 percent of them being hired on the spot,” Sy-Coson said.

“So, for 2024, the job fairs for 41 weeks in 70 malls are already scheduled with the aim of multiplying the number of those hired. This is the job fair that we have; we have tested it and it has been successful, so we’re going to continue and multiply,” she added.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the 3.1 percent unemployment rate recorded in December 2023 is the lowest reading since it followed the new definition of “unemployed persons” in 2005.

The agency defined an unemployed person as someone who is aged 15 and above as of their last birthday and who is either jobless or has no business during the basic survey reference period.

READ: PH jobless rate eased to record low of 3.1% in Dec. 2023