MANILA – A senior member of the Arroyo Cabinet warned the country’s unemployment rate could reach a record high if the prevailing global economic and financial turmoil worsens in 2009.
Secretary Marianito Roque of the Department of Labor and Employment pointed out the number of jobless Filipinos could hit as high as 10 percent in January if the economic pump-priming in the developed countries fails. “The unemployment rate may increase from the present 6.8 to 7.8 percent to even as high as 10 percent if the crisis worsens this year,” Roque emphasized. However, he clarified that the double-digit unemployment rate is a “worst case scenario” projected by the government in the wake of widespread fears throughout the world of a worsening crisis in 2009.
Based on the latest Labor Force Survey undertaken by the National Statistics Office (NSO), the number of unemployed Filipinos has already reached 2.5 million. Despite the NSO findings, Roque said his department is now preparing appropriate measures to prevent a further increase in the unemployment rate with the projected entry of one million more people in the labor force in April.
The labor secretary explained the new labor force entrants would come mainly from the young Filipinos who are to graduate from college or vocational schools nationwide in March this year. Their entry could push the country’s unemployment figure even higher unless steps are taken to minimize or prevent such increase.
“We are getting ready for the first semester of 2009, so we have to strategize plans early to address the effects of the global crisis on the country’s unemployment rate,” Roque assured. At the same time, Roque said the government is closely monitoring the commercial establishments particularly in the country’s export processing zones so that immediate assistance could be provided to displaced workers. He disclosed that they already observed a slight increase in the number of notices of retrenchment filed before the labor department by several companies located in the export processing zones.
Roque’s revelation was confirmed by reports that two more export companies at the Mactan Economic Zone on the island province of Cebu in the Visayas have retrenched employees, displacing almost 300 workers. The two companies have been identified as Maithland Smith Limited, a furniture-export firm and the Taiyo Yuden Philippines Incorporated which manufactures spare parts for cellular phones. In December 2008, at least 100 workers of a US-owned firm, Lear Automotive, which produces spare parts for American automotive manufacturers were retrenched because of the crisis.
In Baguio City in the Northern Luzon highlands, the Texas Instruments Philippines Incorporated announced there would be a second wave of layoff of employees, which started with the retrenchment of 392 workers from its different divisions. Baguio-based labor department officials said Texas Instruments was the first American-led firm to “bite the bullet” due to the crisis when it authorized an early retirement program for its employees before the end of 2008.
The officials explained that because of a slowdown in the US market, semiconductor companies that supply the market, like Texas Instruments, would logically take the brunt of the economic crisis.
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True. The news here about TI Baguio retrenching employees is sad news. They had actually reduced their workers by not renewing their contracts even before that 392 workers laid off hit the news.
This is really very alarming. The export sector will suffer the most.