NEARLY a million Filipinos lost their jobs since the pandemic began, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).
In a budget presentation at the Senate of the Philippines on Wednesday, Neda said after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released the latest employment numbers, it found that there was a decline of 3.4 million jobs between June and July.
With that, the net job loss of the economy is 800,000. This means these were the jobs that were lost between January 2020 and July 2021.
“Job creation is highly correlated with the level of quarantine and lately, the heightened risk due to the Delta variant,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said.
“As a result, our net employment creation since the start of the pandemic is down by 800,000. Hopefully, as we manage the Delta variant, we can reverse this in the coming months,” he also said.
Based on the presentation, when the country moved to lower quarantine restriction levels, there was job creation. The largest number of jobs created was recorded when the country moved from ECQ in April 2020 to GCQ in July 2020, reaching 7.5 million jobs.
The largest decline in job creation was observed when the country moved toward higher restriction levels. The largest number of jobs lost was recorded when the country locked down in April—when a total of 8.7 million jobs were lost.
Chua also said there was a net job creation between January and June 2021: a positive 2.5 million jobs created. However, given the latest preliminary results of the Labor Force Survey (LFS) in July, the country lost the second highest number of jobs since April last year as the economy shed 3.4 million jobs.
He traced the loss of jobs to the decline in farm employment, triggered by the rainy season, and concerns of workers about catching the Delta variant of the virus.
“The imposition of the MECQ in high-risk areas including NCR since August 21, is actually our proactive response to balance the needs of the people, whether these be from Covid or non-Covid concerns, including their other sickness and hunger as we also manage the spread of the more contagious delta variant,” Chua said at the hearing.
Youth employment
IN the same Senate hearing, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the economy’s recovery rests on the country’s young population. The average age of Filipinos is 25-year-old, the demographic sweet spot of the country.
However, based on the latest data from the LFS, the number of youth Not in Employment, Education, and Training (NEET) soared 2,242.6 percent which translates to an increase of 885,000 in July 2021.
In July 2021, NEET or those aged 15 to 24 year olds reached 925,000, significantly higher than the 39,000 recorded in July 2020.
Further, youth who are not in the labor force increased 8.3 percent or 1.015 million to 13.234 million in July 2021 from 12.219 million in July 2020.
The PSA data also showed an 11.9-percent increase in the number of young Filipinos considered underemployed. These young Filipinos are employed but are still looking for additional work to augment their income.
Data showed 1.065 million Filipinos aged 15 to 24 years old who are looking for additional sources of income in July 2021, an increase of 114,000 from the 951,000 recorded in July 2020.
The preliminary data also showed almost half a million young Filipinos were new entrants to the labor force in July 2021, a 58.8-percent increase in the number of new entrants.
PSA said 1.246 million young Filipinos joined the ranks of the labor force in July 2021, up by 462,000 from the 784,000 in July 2020.
Meanwhile, there was a 15.1-percent decline, or 1.173 million, in the number of young Filipino workers to 6.605 million in July 2021 from 7.778 million in July 2020.
The number of employed youth also declined 7.4 percent (less 448,000 workers) to 5.591 million in July 2021 from 6.039 million in July 2020.
The data also showed a 41.7-percent decline or 725,000 fewer youth workers who became unemployed in July 2021. A total of 1.158 million young workers were unemployed, a decline from the 1.739 million in July 2020.