Nearly 5,000 Metro workers lost jobs in Q1

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly 5,000 workers in Metro Manila lost their jobs following the closure of various commercial establishments in the National Capital Region, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Records from the DOLE-Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) showed that a total of 4,925 workers or a daily average of 55 workers were laid off in the first quarter of the year.

Based on DOLE data, Metro Manila accounted for the biggest number of displaced workers after various commercial establishments shut down nationwide.

A total of 457 companies nationwide closed down in the first three months of the year, affecting a total of 6,250 workers.

Other regions that reported high number of laid off workers were Central Luzon with 695 and Central Visayas with 346.

The top reason cited for retrenchment and closures of establishments was downsizing, which led to the displacement of more than 3,000 workers in the country.

Employers also claimed financial losses and lack of market as among the factors that forced them to lay off workers or close down their firms.

Labor officials, however, stressed that the number of company closures and retrenched workers due to economic difficulty was lower than the past years.

In 2009, DOLE reported a total of 61,360 workers laid off following the closures of 2,522 commercial firms nationwide. Around the same number of firms also folded up last year, but only 36,583 workers were displaced.

Earlier, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz expressed confidence that the prevailing economic crisis in the United States would not result in massive layoff of Filipino workers.

Baldoz said the department is closely monitoring export companies, particularly those in the US as major market so that immediate necessary measures could be put in place to avoid displacement of workers. –Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)