Monthly Archives: October 2014

MANILA, Philippines–Despite the country’s impressive economic growth, which averaged 5.4 percent a year during the past decade, the overall labor market scenario has been “less positive,” limiting progress on social development and inclusive growth, a joint study by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank said.

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MANILA – While the Philippines could get a net 3 million jobs as Southeast Asian nations relax trade and other rules to form the ASEAN Economic Community, more than a third of them could be “vulnerable jobs,” the International Labor Organization (ILO) said.

A 21-year-old construction worker died Tuesday afternoon when he accidentally fell from the balcony of a building still undergoing construction in Quezon City.

MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund has cut its 2015 growth forecast for the Philippines as merchandise exports are expected to post a slower growth.

More than six million elderly in the country will soon become lifetime members of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth). This was announced by PhilHealth President and CEO Alexander A. Padilla during forum held recently on social protection programs for the elderly, an Elderly Filipino Week activity organized by PhilHealth and the Department of Social Welfare…

Decisive policy action now is a must in order for the Philippines to benefit from the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). MANILA (ILO News) – The Philippines could add another 3.1 million jobs to its labour market as a member of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), expected to come into force in 2015. However, a new…

You made all the right moves the last few years, difficult as they may have been. You took a firm hold of the leadership mantle, turned a discerning eye to your business and streamlined operations to ensure your organization would remain viable.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Labor Department reported Tuesday that about 168 million children, aged 5 to 7, worked last year as laborers around the world, about half of them in hazardous jobs.

MANILA – An estimated 3.1 million jobs may be added to the Philippine labor market from ASEAN integration, a study shows. The study, titled “ASEAN Community 2015: Managing integration for better jobs and shared prosperity,” revealed that demand for high-skilled employment such as managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals could increase by nearly 60 percent…

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. urged stakeholders to support the Philippine’s strategy to strengthen trade and investment relations with Europe. Speaking before stakeholders in a series of consultations held this week, Cristobal said, “We need to deepen our relationship with the EU and make it more meaningful for both economies.

MANILA – Philippines companies racked up debt faster than their Asean peers in the last seven years. In a report released today, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) said 17 of the Philippines’ biggest companies nearly tripled their debt holdings between 2008 and the first quarter of 2014.

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s inflation rate went down to 4.4 percent in September from 4.9 percent in August. “Moderate food inflation, lower electricity charges and the roll-back in global and local petroleum prices contributed to the slower overall inflation in this period,” Natinal Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Officer-in-Charge and Deputy Director-General Emmanuel Esguerra,…

A new ILO publication presents a series of lessons learned by trade unions and cooperatives in their efforts to prevent the closing of enterprises through buyouts. It provides examples of success stories and documents the enabling conditions that led to success.

Examples of sexual harassment reported in a new survey run from sexual jokes to explicit advances and groping. This post is in partnership with Time. The article below was originally published at Time.com. A large majority of restaurant workers say they face consistent sexual harassment at the hands of customers, co-workers and managers, according to…

The month of August saw an all-time high for employment in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector in the Philippines, hitting over one million employees. Growth in employment is being primarily driven by the expansion plans of a number of companies, such as Accenture and Convergys.

SINGAPORE – Debt at Philippine companies has grown fastest among companies in Southeast Asia, according to the “ASEAN Top Companies” series that Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services published recently.

The idea of a regional economic integration taking place in the latter part of 2015 evokes fears of imported products flooding the local market and killing local industries. Such apprehension, though, is unfounded.

MANILA, Philippines – More treatment centers for HIV and AIDS will be set up nationwide to give the growing number of patients free anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

Generally, pay the minimums on your lower-rate cards and send as much money as possible to your highest-rate card. Dear Liz: I’m confused about paying down credit card debt. Some say to pay the lowest-balance cards first and others say the highest balance or the one with the highest interest. I have almost $16,000 on…

MANILA – The Philippine office of the International Finance Corp (IFC) called on the government to expedite projects that would boost the country’s power supply in preparation for the start of the Asean Economic Community.

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippines has begun making the necessary preparations to ensure that local exporters will be able to immediately tap the benefits of the European Union’s new Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme, or GSP+. According to Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr., the government hopes that the European Parliament will hand down a favorable…

Which economies in Asia and the Pacific rank as the best innovators and why? Download the new ADB report here

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The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) internal watchdog has found that the agency’s costly and time-consuming experiments on alternative asbestos control methods (AACM) lacked effective oversight and threatened human health. In a recent report, EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that the agency didn’t conduct the research under a controlled process to ensure oversight.…

More people are foregoing a lengthy commute and working from home. Whether you are a full-time freelancer or the occasional telecommuter, working outside an office can be a challenge. What are the best ways to set yourself up for success? How do you stay focused and productive? And how do you keep your work life…

The jobs crisis is over. Now it’s on to the hard part: boosting American income. Tomorrow is the first Friday of October, which means the Labor Department will release its monthly jobs report, an updated look at how many jobs the economy added and where the unemployment rate stands.

LONDON – Norway is the best place to grow old, according to the latest Global AgeWatch index of 96 countries published on Wednesday, while Afghanistan is the worst. All but one of the top 10 countries are in Western Europe, North America and Australasia, with Japan the exception at ninth place, according to the ranking…

MANILA, Philippines – Hong Kong’s Labour Department has granted foreign domestic helpers an increase of (FDHs) HK$ 100 increase in their monthly salaries, raising the minimum wage to HK$4,110 per month.