Palace: Gov’t remains committed to address employment issues

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Malacañang on Wednesday assured the public that the government is addressing labor issues in the Philippines after a report showed an increased number of underemployed and part-time workers under the Duterte administration.

Citing latest official labor force data, think tank Ibon Foundation said the number of underemployed Filipinos grew by 1.1 million, from 6.4 million in January 2017 to 7.5 million in January 2018.

Ibon also said that the part-time workers increased to 14.7 million in January this year compared to the 13.4 million in January 2017.

Ibon said “the government should implement much-needed reforms that prioritize Filipino workers’ interests over big business profits.”

“Government continues to address and improve the labor situation in the country,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

Roque said that while the number of underemployed and part-time workers grew in January 2018 compared to the same period last year, he noted the increase in the number of employed persons to 41.8 million in January 2018 from 39.3 million in January 2017.

He said employment rate rose to 94.7 percent in January 2018 from January 2017’s 93.4 percent.

He added that unemployment rate dropped to 5.3 percent in January 2018 from 6.6 percent in January 2017.

Roque had earlier said that “Build-Build-Build Infrastructure Plan” of the government would create more jobs for Filipinos following a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, showing that joblessness in the country soared in the first quarter of 2018. /jpv

READ: Palace on SWS survey: ‘Government programs would create more jobs’