Philippine exclusive growth continues

Despite last year’s 6.5 percent economic growth, poverty remained high at 27.9 percent or over a quarter of our population in the first half of that year. In the first half of this year, the economy recorded a much faster growth at 7.6 percent. Instead of improving, however, yesterday’s government employment report also shows that in July this year the unemployment rate moved up to 7.3 percent from 7.0 percent in the same month last year.

The report says that in July this year the country’s population aged 15 years and over is estimated at 64.468 million. Out of this number, 41.178 million persons were in the labor force, of which 38.175 million or 92.7 percent were employed. The remaining 7.3 percent or 3.003 million were unemployed. Of the employed, however, 19.2 percent were underemployed. Together, the unemployed and underemployed makes up 26.5 percent or more than a quarter also of our labor force.

Almost half or 48.9 percent of the unemployed persons belonged to the age group 15 to 24 years. By educational attainment, about one-fifth or 21.7 percent of the unemployed were college graduates, 13.6 percent were college undergraduates, and 32.8 percent were high school graduates.

The unemployment rate was highest in the National Capital Region (NCR) with 10.9 percent, the premier and the most highly urbanized in the country followed by Calabarzon with 9.1 percent, Central Luzon with 9.0 and Ilocos Region with 8.5 percent. The Central Visayas where Cebu is part had an unemployment rate of 6.5 percent.

Of the 38.175 million employed persons, majority of them or 53.4 percent were working in the services sector. Those working in the agriculture sector comprised the second largest group making up 30.9 percent of the total employed while workers in the industry sector made up the smallest group registering 15.6 percent of the total employed.

Among the major occupation groups, laborers and unskilled workers remained the largest group making up 32.2 percent of the total employed in July 2013. The second largest group of workers composed of officials of the Government and special interest organizations, corporate executives, managers, and managing proprietors accounted for 16.5 percent of the total employed in July 2013. The farmers, forestry workers and fishermen comprised the third largest group of workers, making up 13.1 percent of the total employed in July 2013.

Too many unemployed and underemployed makes it hard for the labor group to bargain for higher wages. This destines the lowest ranks of the workers, whether in the farm or in the urban centers, to live long in poverty. When will our poor people be uplifted? Why can’t they improve their lot with the country’s rising pace of economic growth?

Most of the country’s laborers and unskilled workers are paid the minimum wage allowed by the government. It is even much lower in the informal sector where the government has no control. Presently, the minimum wage in the country barely provides for the needs of the workers and their family. The high percentage of laborers and unskilled workers in our labor force implies that so much of our people are also being handicapped to meet their basic needs. This, together with the country’s high unemployment and underemployment rates, largely explain for the nation’s high poverty incidence up to now.

I said that too many unemployed and underemployed makes it hard for the labor group to bargain for higher wages. This is explained by the inviolable economic law of supply and demand. Like any commodity, labor is bought and sold in the market. When supply of labor exceeds demand, it is natural for the wage, the price of labor, to be depressed or prevented from rising as much as labor desire.

Unfortunately, unlike the other things bought and sold in the market, labor has feelings – they feel hungry and weak when not fully fed and they are not fully fed because they are not paid well. With very little pay, they cannot also provide the much needed education that their children need to rise in this highly competitive and globalized economy. Poverty comes in circle. How do we break this up?

But then why should the poor remain poor if indeed the economy is growing? And why are jobs scarce? Most of all, why allow the market forces to determine the wage rate if that only lead to the perpetuation of the poverty of the nation’s workers while the rich continues to accumulate wealth?

In this world, the capitalist does not live alone and no capitalist can ever make a profit without the cooperation of labor. Nothing is produced without the participation of labor. If labor is not given fair share of the things they help to produce, they will refrain from work and if they have to work in order to live they do it only up to a point necessary to meet the minimum requirement to justify their meager pay. In this condition, labor suffers but the capitalist suffers too by not being able to get the most from their workers in terms of higher productivity which could have added more to their profit.