DOLE pits PSA labor force survey vs. SWS findings, says employment rate stable

The employment situation in the country is better than the picture painted by the recent findings of the Social Weather Stations, the Department of Labor and Employment has said.

At a press briefing on Monday, Labor Undersecretary Renato Ebarle said the labor force survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority which showed a lower unemployment rate was the official source of information on the labor situation.

"In the third quarter 2018 SWS survey done on September15, adult joblessness is at 22 percent, this is estimated to be around 9.8 million adults. Meanwhile, PSA reported 5.4 percent unemployment rate or about 2.3 million as of July 2018," Ebarle said.

DOLE added that the proportion of working persons in the labor force as of July 2018 increased to 94.65 percent from the 94.4 percent in the same period last year.

"It is important to note that the labor force survey is the official source of employment information. The process and the idea of determination of which is enacted by the global economies," Ebarle said.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that the SWS may have not taken into account some special situations of the survey respondents.

"May mga jobs available, and there are people qualified for the jobs but they opt not to work," Bello said.

"Halimbawa 'yung nanay qualified siya maging accountant for a company and there is a job available for her but she opts to take care of her children, hindi mo pwedeng masabing unemployment 'yan," he added.

The SWS used three classifications to identify the jobless respondents: retrenched, voluntarily left their old jobs, and first-time job seekers who have yet to find a job.

Bello said that the DOLE's mandate did not cover job creation.

"Ang Department of Labor is not engaged in job creation, ang job creation is the effect of investment... Ang sakop namin is to secure employment, make employment more meaningful, more productive, and more beneficial to the workers," Bello said.

Bello, however, said that the government was on track ub its efforts to attract investments that would generate more jobs, citing the Ease of Doing Business Act signed by President Rodrigo Duterte and the Build, Build, Build project of the administration. —NB, GMA News