MANILA, Philippines — Around 6.8 percent of employed workers nationwide are unpaid as of June this year, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
However, this figure is lower compared to the 9.4 percent recorded in the same period in 2023, said Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, citing data from DOLE.
The agency did not provide details on the exact number of these workers; however, based on the Labor Force Survey results in March this year, the country had 45.9 million employed individuals in January 2024.
“In June 2023, 9.4 percent were unpaid workers. Ibig sabihin, nagtatrabaho pero walang kinikita, but as of June 2024, bumaba to 6.4 percent,” Quimbo said during the House appropriations hearing on Wednesday.
(This means they work without getting paid, but as of June 2024, this lowered to 6.4 percent.)
“’Di ko alam kung tama pag-compute ko; that’s about one million workers. ‘Yang one million naging wage workers or most of them naging empleyado sa pribadong korporasyon,” she added.
(I don’t know if I computed it right, but it’s about one million workers. These workers became wage workers. Most of them were employed under a private corporation.)
Quimbo then asked Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma if the data translated to improved employment in the country, to which he answered, “Yes.”
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“Tama po ‘yan, subalit hindi sapat na dahilan para kami ay maging kampante. Sana, quality jobs po tayo para wala na yung binabanggit na underemployed,” the DOLE chief said.
(That’s right, but it is not a sufficient reason for us to become complacent. We aim to provide quality jobs to lessen the number of underemployed individuals.)
Laguesma added that this means workers would undergo continuous upgrading of employment status from being unpaid to underemployed, eventually to wage and salaried workers.
Although Quimbo commended the agency, she pointed out the need to address the remaining 6.8 percent of unpaid workers.
Aside from the unpaid workers, the lawmaker also disclosed that the unemployment rate in June decreased to 3.1 percent compared to the same period in 2023 at 4.5 percent.