Number of displaced workers due to global crisis drops, says NEDA

MANILA, Philippines – The number of displaced workers in the Philippines as a result of the global financial crisis went down in April, indicating that the country is slowly recovering from the difficult economic tide, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director for policy and planning Dennis Arroyo said yesterday.

Arroyo said that the country is already on the road to a “mild recovery” this year.

He expressed optimism that there would be a steady decline in the number of workers displaced from their jobs as the economy starts to recover from the crisis.

Citing data from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Arroyo said that from April 1 to 15, the number of displaced workers has gone down to 1,026 from 14,512 workers in March.

In February, the number of displaced workers stood at 10,288, slightly lower than the 10,333 workers who were displaced in January, data further showed.

When the crisis hit the Philippines last year, 4,454 workers were displaced, data showed. The number grew to 11,116 in November and then to 11,961 in December.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto earlier revealed that the government is addressing the jobs displacement problem through the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) which is part of the economic resiliency package.

Critics, however, said that the program is not enough to absorb the new labor force entrant estimated at 900,000.

“CLEEPS cannot absorb the more than 900,000 new labor force entrants, on top of the roughly 11,600 permanently retrenched and 38,800 temporarily laid off workers plus the 12,000 displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) since October 2008 when the crisis erupted,” IBON Foundation, a non-government think tank said.

Arroyo, nevertheless, is optimistic that jobs displacement would continue to slow down in the second half of the year. He said the Philippine economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), is likely to grow by four percent this year or within the revised GDP forecast of 3.1 percent to 4.1 percent.

Growth, he said, would come from the expected increase in domestic consumption. –Iris C. Gonzales, Philippine Star