Malacañang links high unemployment to calamities

Malacanang on Monday said it is not surprised with the increase in unemployment shown in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Based on the latest SWS survey, the unemployment rate increased to 27.5 percent in December 2013 compared to 21.7 percent in September 2013. It was also the highest rate of unemployement for 2013.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the increase in unemployment in the last quarter of 2013 was understandable considering that the country was hit by two natural calamities: the 7.2 magnitude Bohol earthquake and supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Eastern Visayas; and one man-made calamity, the Zamboanga siege.

Lacierda however said the government continues to conduct measures to cushion the increasing rate of unemployment brought by the three calamities last year.

“For instance, in the areas affected by the typhoon ‘Yolanda’, we expect reconstruction and rehabilitation to be moving, and so we will expect employment to be done,” he said.

“For now, we already have our cash-for-work program to make sure that those who have suffered may be able to afford some measure of compensation. So that’s understandable for us,” he added.

For her part, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the SWS survey results are always higher than the labor force survey done by the National Statistics Office (NSO) because the SWS survey uses a different methodology than the labor force survey.

“We in government (are) guided by the labor force survey of NSO and that has been the case from the beginning. And as far as the unemployment is concerned we are still at 7.2 percent,” she said.

The Labor chief also said there has been an improvement in terms of employment, particularly on the quality of jobs. -Madel Sabater – Namit, Manila Bulletin