LETTERS
We would like to clarify the article, “Jobs, incomes fell in second quarter amid slowdown” which appeared in the November 10, 2009 edition of Manila times.net.
The article cited a report from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) which was culled from the Quarterly Survey of Philippine Business and Industry (QSPBI) of the National Statistics Office (NSO).
The survey covers only private non-agricultural establishments employing at least 20 workers. This indicates that the decline in jobs and incomes as mentioned in your paper occurred only in the non-agricultural sector which is just a part of the industry. Such employment decline in the said sector is only a partial view of the Philippine labor market.
The overall employment situation is captured by another NSO survey, the Labor Force Survey (LFS) which is the official and most authoritative source of statistics on labor and employment in the country. The April 2009 LFS showed an employment growth of 4.3 percent indicating that despite the global economic crisis, the number of employed persons in the country rose by 1.458 million compared to the same period in 2008. Amid the crisis, employment growth was sustained as the number of employed persons rose by 2.6 percent from 34.59 million last year to 35.5 million this year. This substantiates a report of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which said that the economy and employment in the Philippines has weathered the effects of the economic downturn.
The LFS data showed that despite a decline in jobs and incomes in the non-agricultural sector, the overall employment picture still posted growth as employment in other sectors grew. We can attribute the employment decline in the non-agricultural sector particularly in the mining and quarrying and manufacturing sub-sectors because of the fluctuations in demand and prices brought about by a recovering global economy.
Salamat po.
MA. JOJI V. ARAGON (SGD)
Assistant Secretary
Department of Labor and
Employment Information and Publication Service (IPS)
6th/F DOLE Building, Muralla Street, Intramuros, Manila
Tel. Nos. 527-3000 loc. 621 to 627/Fax: 527-3446
World Day for Safety and Health at Work
“Safety and health at work every day!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations against serious violations of Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government
(NUG) of Myanmar.
Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
March – Women’s Role in History Month
April – Month of Planet Earth
Weekly Observances:
Last Week of March: Protection and Gender Fair Treatment of the Girl Child Week
Last Week of April – World Immunization Week
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Mar 25 – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transallantic Slave Trade
Mar 27– Earth Hour
Apr 21 – Civil Service Day
Apr 22 – World Earth Day
Apr 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work
