Employment up, but job quality low —PSA chief

Results of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) for August showed the number of employed persons increased, but employment data indicated that the quality of jobs were low.

Results of the LFS showed that employed Filipinos increased to 48.07 million, up from 44.63 million in July and also higher than the 47.87 million persons with jobs or livelihoods in August 2022.

This translates to an employment rate of 95.6%, higher than the 95.2% rate in July and the 94.7% in the same period last year.

At a press briefing on Friday, National Statistician and Philippine Statistics Authority chief Claire Dennis Mapa, however, admitted that “hindi ganun kataas ang quality of jobs (the quality of jobs is not that good).”

This, as the number of self-employed and unpaid family workers saw significant increases against the increase in wage and salary workers.

“Sa wages and salary workers slight ang galaw. Malaking increase ay sa self-employed at unpaid family workers,” Mapa said.

(The increase in wages and salary workers was slight. The huge increase was in self-employed and unpaid family workers.)

In particular, unpaid family workers grew to 3.84 million in August from 1.99 million in July. Unpaid family workers account for 8% of the total employed.

The PSA defines an unpaid family worker as a person who works without pay on own family-operated farm or business by another member living in the same household.

Self-employed individuals, on the other hand, increased to 13.14 million from 11.25 million in July. The workers group accounts for 27.3% of total employed.

Meanwhile, wage and salary workers, which account for 62.6% of total employed, marginally rose to 30.07 million from 29.99 million in the prior month.

Moreover, the number of middle- and high-skilled occupations decreased by 354,000, while low-skilled occupations increased by 551,000 year-on-year.

In a statement, economic think tank IBON Foundation said the “millions-surge” in informal work, “particularly in part-time and unpaid family, indicates that working Filipinos are going on survival mode as the living crisis intensifies.”

The think tank said that while employment increased by 3.4 million to over 48 million month-on-month, the jobs created were mostly in “precarious work.”

IBON, citing LFS results, said the number of part-time workers surged by a huge 2.5 million to nearly 15 million, while full-time workers measly grew by 905,000 to 32.8 million.

“IBON estimates that the total number of those in outright informal work grew by 3.5 million to 20.2 million or 42.1% of total employed in August 2023. This is comprised of the self-employed, domestic workers, and those that are employers, work with pay, and are unpaid family workers in their own family-operated farm or business,” it said.

“This does not yet include irregular workers in private establishments who should be considered informally employed. Including them possibly increases informality to as much as 34.5 million or an overwhelming 72% of total employment,” it added.

The think tank said if the Marcos administration is really committed to generating meaningful employment as it claims, “it should abandon the old failed market-driven policies and focus on pouring its resources into strengthening and protecting domestic agriculture and Filipino industry.”

At a press chat in Pasig City, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan also said the government is committed to the “creation of high quality jobs, jobs that give everyone a decent pay.”

However, Balisacan said that creation of high quality jobs “will take time.”

“High quality jobs will not be created overnight,” the NEDA chief said.

The country’s chief economist said the Marcos administration’s economic team is luring investors to invest in the country as investments will eventually create high quality jobs.

“To raise the quality of employment further, the Marcos administration is committed to exerting all efforts to shape an attractive business climate for investors who have the resources needed to bring in high-quality and high-paying jobs,” Balisacan said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News