Unemployed Pinoys at risk of mental disorder – ILO

MANILA, Philippines – The International Labor Organization (ILO) yesterday warned governments that millions of unemployed workers in 35 countries, including the Philippines, are at greater risk of suffering from psychological disorder resulting from difficulty in finding immediate employment.

ILO said a study they conducted showed that people who could not find jobs for a long period of time are likely to suffer from demoralization, loss of self-esteem and other psychological problems.

“In the 35 countries with available data, nearly 40 percent of jobseekers have been without work for more than one year and therefore run significant risks of demoralization, loss of self-esteem and mental health problems,” the ILO said in a report.

The Philippine government previously reported that aside from the recorded 2.7 million unemployed people, there were also about a million so-called discouraged workers.

Discouraged workers are those people who have opted to end their effort to seek employment due to the belief that there are no jobs available.

Lawrence Jeff Johnson, ILO country director for the Philippines, said employment gains were seen in various countries worldwide, including the Philippines, since 2009.

Johnson said despite these significant gains, however, new clouds have emerged on the employment horizon and the prospects have worsened significantly in many countries.

ILO said many countries that experienced positive employment growth at the end of 2009 are now seeing a weakening of the jobs recovery, with more than four million jobseekers opting to stop seeking employment.

The ILO study revealed that even among people with jobs, satisfaction at work has deteriorated significantly.

ILO said if the current trend prevails, a recovery in employment to pre-crisis levels would be delayed until 2015 in advanced economies, instead of 2013 as it projected one year ago.

The ILO said more than eight million new jobs are still needed to return to pre-crisis levels in those countries.

Job losses have affected rural migrants, many of who were forced to return to lower productivity agricultural work, ILO noted.

But the ILO credited the Philippine government for prioritizing efforts to provide jobs that empower the people and provide them with opportunities to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)