DOLE expects better job figures for farm sector after El Niño

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) expects better results in the next Labor Force Survey (LFS) once the agriculture sector recovers from El Niño, which caused job losses in the first few months of the year.

Labor Undersecretary Romeo Lagman also said in a Palace briefing that it is important to see the “positive aspect” of the results of the LFS, which showed unemployment at a two-year high of 8 percent in April 2010, compared with the same period last year, or 300,000 more jobless.

“The positive aspect of our Labor Force Survey should be seen. Actually, the employment level grew by 1.2 percent in 2010, because the persons in the labor force increased from 34.9 million to 35.4 million based on the survey. This translates actually to an employment generation of over 400,000,” Lagman said.

He said there were “big sector gainers in employment generation” from the last survey, such as the services sector, which grew 4.7 percent, or in absolute figures 822,000; and the industry sector, which grew 7.8 percent, or 396,000 in absolute figures.

Lagman said 270,000 jobs were lost during the comparative period because while there were job gains in the industry and services sector, the country was hit by the global financial crisis in the last quarter of 2009 and, more significantly, El Niño in the first few months of the year.

“[El Nino] hit agriculture, which accounts for 32.5 percent of our workers. So, hopefully, with the rains, agriculture will recover, and the workers will return. Perhaps, the next survey will picture a better perspective of the country’s employment,” Lagman said.

Asked what the incoming administration should prioritize to address the unemployment problem, Lagman said  the “job mismatch is really a problem.”  He cited the outcome of job fairs, where as much as 30,000 jobs are available, but only 5,000 usually get hired on the spot because of the mismatch.

“Perhaps, the incoming administration should prioritize pursuing programs to address the mismatch,” he said, adding that this would complement ongoing DOLE programs to respond to the problem. –Mia M. Gonzalez / Reporter, Businessmirror