Over a quarter unemployed in the Philippines

[ian_1983]

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Another government cover-up to hide the truth about the number of unemployed Filipinos.
IF NSO is to be believed, the percentage of unemployed FIlipino are only 6.8% or roughly 2.5million;
then again those figures are based on the governments new definition of the word unemployed means. But based on the actual survey conducted by SWS survey; and using the traditonal meaning of unemployed, their are over 27.9% or roughly 11million are unemployed.

Read below as reported by Philippines business world;

Over a quarter unemployed
Hunger also higher among affected families — SWS

OVER A QUARTER of the adult labor force are unemployed and hunger as a consequence is higher among their families, a new Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The results, made exclusive to BusinessWorld, point to some 11 million Filipinos — 27.9% of the work force — as jobless as of December. While better than September’s 30.9%, the SWS said unemployment basically remained above 20% since May 2005.

The independent survey research institution’s tally compares with the official unemployment rate of 6.8% as of October — equivalent to 2.53 million Filipinos — based on the National Statistics Office’s (NSO) quarterly Labor Force survey. The SWS uses the traditional definition of unemployment — those not working and at the same time looking for work — and classes adults as those at least 18 years old.

The government, on the other hand, includes those 15 years old onward and in April 2005 dropped the traditional definition in favor of the "availability of work" concept.

This means the NSO’s count excludes those without work but are not currently available despite wanting to work, and adds those without jobs, are available, but are not seeking work due to either tiredness/belief that no work is available; awaiting results of a job application; temporary illness/disability; bad weather; or waiting for rehire/recall.
Using the official definition, the SWS said its unemployment figure for adults 18 years old and above would be 22.3%.

"It is lower than when computed using the traditional definition because the correction for those looking for work but ’not truly available’ is much larger than the correction for those ’actually available’ though not looking for work at the moment," it said.

The SWS also tied joblessness to hunger, saying "Unemployment raises the vulnerability of families...".
It said 31.4% among families of the unemployed experienced "total hunger" or involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months, compared to 29.2% among families of private employees, 19.7% among families of the self-employed, and 12.7% among families of government employees.
"Severe hunger", referring to those who experienced involuntary hunger "often" or "always" in the last three months, was 7.6% among the unemployed and private employees, 2.6% among the self-employed, and also 2.6% among government employees.
"Moderate hunger" — experiencing it "only once" or "a few times" in the last three months — was 23.8% among the unemployed, 21.6% among private employees, 17.1% among the self-employed, and 10.1% among government employees.

The fourth quarter SWS survey polled 1,500 adults in Metro Manila using face-to-face interviews. Sampling error margins used were plus or minus 2.5% for national percentages, plus or minus 6% for Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao, and plus or minus 4% for the Balance of Luzon.
Asked to comment, University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations professor Rene E. Ofreneo said the 27.9% unemployment rate was very high.
"It’s over one-fifth of the labor force ... it’s really a cause for concern. The challenge to the government in light of the crisis is to provide jobs for those displaced but also for those entering the labor force every year, that’s about one million," he said.
Employment opportunities should also be given to those who were jobless even before the crisis, he said, adding "It’s also important to provide quality jobs."
He said data from the Employers Confederation of the Philippines showed the informal economy accounted for some 70% of the labor force comnpared to government data which point to just 45% being informally employed.
"Somewhere between that ... let’s say 50%, are definitely in the informal economy," he said.
Alvin P. Ang, University of Santo Tomas economist, said the results of the latest SWS survey were "alarming".
"It’s most probably true because of the global economic situation. The government has very limited fiscal capacity. But I think it won’t be solved by the government alone, the private sector should help," he said. — from a report by Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo

Nag usab naman sila ug meaning, murah ang sunod usbon ani word napud sa "Poor" cguro.
pagka faet ning gobyernoha..!!

[chad_tukes]

the media is also to blame.

[rambutan]

lain pa na source ai..

10.7 M Jobless Filipinos In 2008: Record Joblessness Among Arroyo Gov’t’s Greatest Failures
Written by IBON Media

The Philippines’ record-high unemployment is considered among the greatest failures of the Arroyo administration and is seen to even worsen this year, according to research group IBON Foundation.
Estimates made by IBON put the number of unemployed and underemployed Filipinos at 10.7 million in 2008. This was computed using the original National Statistics Office (NSO) definition of employment and assuming a labor force participation rate of 66.1% in 2008. The estimate tries to correct for official underestimation of joblessness since April 2005, when the NSO revised its definition and greatly reduced unemployment reports.

This year, joblessness is likely to increase to at least 11 million or more, assuming that the labor force increases by 915,000 (the average increase over the last eight years) and that only 500,000 jobs are created, which implies an additional 415,000 jobless. This figure could be higher, as the employment situation is already far worse than the aftermath of the 1997 Asian Crisis when unemployment rate averaged 10% in 1998-1999 compared to nearly 11% in 2008.

The most recent severe worsening of the Philippine economic crisis in 2000 and 2001 may help illustrate what the country is now going through. Like today, the global slowdown in 2000 was precipitated by serious US financial and economic troubles– then it was the bursting of the "dot-com" or "new economy" bubble. The ranks of the unemployed swelled by an additional 640,000 Filipinos in 2000 and 2001 which brought the number of unemployed to 3.7 million in 2001 and the unemployment rate to 11.1% (from 9.8% in 1999). While there is strong reason to believe that the Philippine economy will again go in these directions or even worse, as the current global economic financial turmoil is not just deeper and farther-reaching but will also last for much longer.

Despite claims of economic success, job creation under the Arroyo administration since 2001 has been tepid and its policies have not been able to create enough jobs for Filipinos. The average real employment rate of over 11% since 2001 is the worst period of unemployment in the country’s history. The persistence of high unemployment despite supposedly sustained economic growth is also unprecedented.

All this highlights the need for a radical change in government’s economic policies. Measures that would yield immediate benefits include increasing public spending for social services, removing the VAT on oil products, freeing public resources by stopping debt payments, among others. More than these, the government’s elite-biased and free-market oriented policies, which have kept the Philippine economy backward, should be drastically changed. (end)

[purple haze]

apil nako ani...unemployed and hungry...

[knight007]

I also heard a DOLE officer over a radio program saying that if you are a displaced worker, you are not considered unemployed, you are simply put back into the manpower pool. hehehe ka way clear. And also, if wala kay work but you are waiting a call from companies nga imong gipang-aplayan, you are not unemplyed pod. If wala kay work but cge ka og pangita og work, dili pod daw ka unemplyed kay trabaho man pod daw ng cge ka og pangita og trabaho. hehehe

[the Messenger]

Binisay-on nalang siguro. Tanan na wa pay trabaho mao nay meaning jud sa unemployed.

Unsa gud ning DOLE oi... ma-assuming pod ta tanan ani if you consider yourself employed already when in fact you are still applying for a job.

[purple haze]

I also heard a DOLE officer over a radio program saying that if you are a displaced worker, you are not considered unemployed, you are simply put back into the manpower pool. hehehe ka way clear. And also, if wala kay work but you are waiting a call from companies nga imong gipang-aplayan, you are not unemplyed pod. If wala kay work but cge ka og pangita og work, dili pod daw ka unemplyed kay trabaho man pod daw ng cge ka og pangita og trabaho. hehehe

kung mao man gani na, unemployed gihapon ko

[porbidaman]

unsa man ang gibuhat sa atong gobyerno run?

[hobie]

Apil na ko ani unemployed. Saon nalng ako bright future murag dark mn diay.

[cebugdev]

Nag usab naman sila ug meaning, murah ang sunod usbon ani word napud sa "Poor" cguro.
pagka faet ning gobyernoha..!!

unsa man ang gibuhat sa atong gobyerno run?

nganong gobyerno man? wla pd d ay mabuhat ang taw maningkamot ug pangitag trabaho or MAGNEGOSYO?

iupdate pa d ay nako sa gobyerno ang akng resume, ahaka pd nila oi dugaya nila kita ug trabaho para nako oi..
-sarcasm to the max.. hehehe