The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported an increase in active Filipino workers year-on-year from 3.142 million in July 2023 to 44.556 million in July 2024.
The DOLE also reported that the number of unemployed increased by 4 percent mostly from the agricultural sector brought about by the El Nino and La Nina phenomenon.
“Employment gains span various sectors, and can be attributed to wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, accommodation and food services, construction, and public administration, demonstrating the broad-based nature of our economic recovery,” DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said
Meanwhile, the LFS showed that the number of unemployed increased by 86,000 from 2.289 million in July 2023 to 2.375 million in July 2024. This can be attributed to the surge of new entrants in the labor market due to the graduation season as new graduates begin seeking employment.
However, Laguesa vowed to address this by enhancing our youth employability programs.
“Beyond quantity, we see improvement in the quality of jobs as underemployment declined by 1.292 million accompanied by an increase in the number of wage and salary workers at 221,000.
“We will continue to implement policies and programs that create an enabling environment that enhances workers’ welfare and improvement in the quality of jobs,” the Labor chief added.
He said they are anticipating the positive impact of the Enterprise-Based Education and Training Bill, designed to address job-skills mismatches and boost apprenticeship programs to prepare a skilled and adaptable workforce.
He also cited the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act Plan which is now being finalized to be completed by the end of this year that will provide a significant boost to employment generation, promoting employability and competitiveness of workers, productivity improvement and supporting industry stakeholders, particularly MSMEs.
“By addressing the gap between employed, unemployed, and underemployed, the DOLE aims to meet the evolving needs of workers and enterprises to ensure sustainable economic growth in support and furtherance of the Bagong Pilipinas vision,” Laguesma said.
