Less than a third of working adults in Southeast Asia, which includes the Philippines, are employed full time, according to United States-based research firm Gallup Inc.
In its “State of the Global Workplace” report, Gallup said only 22 percent of working adults in the region are employed. However, Gallup said the figure rises to 42 percent among those with at least four years of higher education.
“[The] findings on Southeast Asia also underscore the critical importance of widespread access to a high-quality education to help the region’s large youth populations navigate and benefit from the rapid changes taking place in their countries,” Gallup said.
Data also showed that only 39 percent of businesses in Southeast Asia were registered formally. Gallup said many of the other businesses were involved in subsistence-level activities, such as small-scale farming.
“Southeast Asia needs rapid expansion of its formal-sector economies to achieve growth in the number of good jobs. The growth will depend largely on how well existing businesses can harness the energy and enthusiasm seen in much of the region through people-centered management,” Gallup said.
Gallup recommended that Southeast Asian countries need to maximize their limited education resources by making “self-discovery and strengths development key curricular goals.”
It added that this will allow students to identify the areas they are most interested in and most likely to contribute their “economic energy.”
Globally, Gallup said its surveys from 2014 through 2016 indicate that 32 percent of working-age adults across 155 countries are employed full time for an employer—an important measure of the availability of good jobs.
Worldwide, the percentage of adults who work full time for an employer and are engaged at work—they are highly involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace—is just 15 percent.
Though engagement levels vary considerably by country and region, Gallup said in no country does the proportion of the employed residents who are engaged in their job exceed about 4 in 10.
“Since 2015 economic frustrations have likely contributed to a rise in nationalism and growing resentment toward immigrants, particularly in the US and Europe,” Gallup said.
Gallup added the report presents a wealth of data about employees in 155 countries, assessing how effectively
employers and countries around the world are cultivating the human capital in their work forces.
Gallup aims to optimize workplaces for economic and human development, their goal is to provide leaders and organizations with analytics, advice and data-driven solutions that reflect the attitudes and behaviors of employees around the world.