Almost 80,000 workers lost their job in January to October this year due mainly to layoffs in the manufacturing sector, according to preliminary data released by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
In its preliminary job displacement figure for 2019, the DOLE data indicated that a total of 79,693 workers lost their jobs in the 10-month period, the highest in six years.
Of the total job displacement figure, 72,710 workers were retrenched due to reduction of work force (RWF), while the remaining 6,983 lost their job because of permanently closed/shutdown operations (PCL).
The latest figure is 56.2 percent higher than the 51,032 displaced workers recorded last year. Displacement figures in previous years were much lower: 50,089 in 2017; 45,589 in 2016; 43,556 in 2015; and 27,487 in 2014.
Hanjin closure
Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Director Dominique R. Tutay said in an interview that the job losses recorded during the period were in the manufacturing sector and included those retrenched by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.-Philippines (HHICC-Phil) Inc.
HHICC-Phil. was forced to lay off over 11,000 employees in its shipyard in Zambales due to the decline in orders. Data showed that of the registered 38,396 job losses in the manufacturing sector, 18,649 came from Central Luzon, including Zambales province.
Tutay also said the impact of the trade tiff between the United States and China may have also caused the displacement of workers in the manufacturing sector.
Natural disasters
The BLE official said the job displacement figure this year could still breach the 80,000 mark since it does not yet include those displaced by the strong earthquakes in Mindanao and Typhoon Tisoy (international code name Kammuri) which ravaged parts of Luzon.
Tutay said the bureau has yet to receive displacement reports from their regional offices in the affected areas, which are still reeling from the impact of natural disasters.
“In the past, it [displacement figure] would fall in the range of 30,000 to 50,000. This is the first time it hit 79,000 under the current administration so we could say we are almost in the crisis level,” she said.
During a crisis, she said the job displacement figure would be at 80,000 to 100,000.
Interventions
Despite the significant hike in job losses during the period, Tutay said the Philippines will still be able to end the year with a net employment of 1.2 million. She noted that the booming construction sector and the strong services sector have helped generate additional employment opportunities this year.
The unemployment insurance benefit of the Social Security System and the DOLE’s existing emergency employment and livelihood programs had also allowed displaced workers to immediately find new employment, according to Tutay.
The BLE official said the government has coordinated with the Institute of Labor Studies to further improve the Job Displacement Monitoring System being used by the DOLE’s regional offices as natural and man-made calamities that strike the Philippines are becoming more frequent. This is expected to enable the government to quickly identify and help displaced workers.