Almost 1 million Filipinos lost jobs at height of crisis – ADB

MANILA, Philippines – Almost a million Filipinos lost their jobs between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, the peak of the prevailing global financial crisis, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report.

In a report titled “How has Asia fared in the global crisis? A tale of three countries: Republic of Korea, Philippines, and Thailand,” ADB estimated that 950,000 jobs were shed in the Philippines during the period.

“Between October 2008 and March 2009, there was a significant drop in industrial jobs and the reduction was particularly sharp in the first half of 2009,” ADB said.

The bank said around 250,000 machine operators and assemblers lost their jobs during the period, causing a seven percent decline in industrial employment in the second quarter of 2009.

Despite the job losses, ADB said the global crisis had little impact on the Philippines’ economic growth because it has minimal exposure to global financial markets and is supported by remittances from overseas Filipino workers.

“Unlike in Korea and Thailand, the crisis’ impact on growth in the Philippines was rather small, although it has become significant in the first quarter of 2009,” the bank said.

In South Korea, around 1.63 million jobs were lost from the last quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. Thailand shed 1.04 million jobs in the same period.

But Labor Secretary Marianito Roque disputed the ADB study, saying the Labor Force Survey (LFS), the official labor and employment statistics in the Philippines, showed modest gains in employment despite the crisis.

“The LFS data on unemployment are nowhere near the 950 thousand job losses cited by the ADB report,” Roque said.

He said the financial crisis had little effect on the agriculture and service sectors.

LFS data showed that the number of employed persons rose 861,000 from 33.672 million in October 2007 to 34.533 million in October 2008; by 565,000 from 33.693 million in January 2008 to 34.258 million in January 2009; and by 1.458 million from 33.535 million in April 2008 to 34.993 million in April 2009.

Roque said because of employment gains, the Philippines’ unemployment rate remained at seven percent.

He said the number of unemployed persons rose 279,000 from October 2007 and October 2008 and by 180,000 from Jan. 2008 to January 2009.

Roque said the government’s pump-priming measures focusing on investments in infrastructure as well as the implementation of a job preservation program called the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) cushioned the country from the adverse effects of the global crisis.

CLEEP provides emergency employment and livelihood assistance to displaced workers. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)