Bring back workers ASAP — ILO

by Louise Maureen Simeon (The Philippine Star), 14 Aug 2021

Philippine job displacement worst in ASEAN

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines should work doubletime in bringing back jobs to avoid long-term scars from the pandemic, especially as the country recorded the largest working-hour losses in Southeast Asia.

In a report, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said the Philippines recorded working-hour losses above the ASEAN average last year as it imposed the strictest lockdown to contain the COVID pandemic.

The Philippines saw an annual decrease of 13.6 percent, way above the average of 8.4 percent in the region.

ILO labor economist and policy brief author Christian Viegelahn said the longer people are detached from the labor market, the more concerning it gets in terms of future impacts of unemployment.

“This will be visible through the working life of these workers that have been affected in terms of potentially lower wages in the future and the quality of jobs that they are able to obtain,” Viegelahn said.

“This is kind of difficult to eradicate if it happened. The pandemic should be brought under control as soon as possible to bring the economy to a position to recover and these workers to be rehired again,” he said.

Latest job data showed that the government may have managed to keep the labor situation steady in June with quarantine restrictions loosened, but the need to earn extra income in a time of recession has forced workers to seek better paying jobs.

Experts earlier warned that the pandemic is expected to have longer scarring effects on the country’s labor force as additional employment generation does not necessarily equate to quality jobs even as the economy recovers from the health crisis.

Repeated lockdowns created a bigger drop in formal employment relative to informal employment.

To address potential deep scars, Viegelahn said it is necessary to bring workers who got into unemployment and inactivity back in the labor market as soon as possible.

He also urged the government to provide more support to micro, small and medium enterprises to increase their resilience and allow them to hire workers again.

“It is also important to invest in skills development so that workers detached in the labor market do not lose their skills, and to make sure that going forward, there will be a skilled workforce available to support the economy and generate income,” Viegelahn said.

“The aspect of gender equality was also an issue even before the crisis and it is important to provide sufficient employment opportunities for women,” he said.

In particular, he said the sectors heavily impacted by the pandemic should be prioritized including tourism, retail sales, hotels and restaurants, arts and entertainment and manufacturing.

As the pandemic drags on, the ILO estimates that the decrease in working hours in ASEAN will be at 7.4 percent this year – a limited improvement from the 8.4 percent in 2020.

Further improvement is seen next year, but the ILO said it still won’t be able to return to pre-COVID-19 level, showing that the crisis will have a long-term impact in the region.