Despite steady economic growth, the Philippine job market has yet to generate jobs that would provide a significant number of its workers decent pay.

Year after year, I promise myself that I would take charge of my lifestyle, changing to better habits, opting for better choices, and hopefully emerging successful in weight management at the end of the year. This year was no different from years past  you enter the holidays thinking you would be more disciplined than last…

The global economy needs to generate 600 million productive jobs over the next decade to generate sustainable economic growth and maintain social cohesion in affected countries, an International Labor Organization (ILO) report on global employment said Monday.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has shelved its plan to increase the rate on the expanded creditable withholding tax that is levied on self-employed individuals. Kim Jacinto-Henares, BIR commissioner said that based on a public hearing last month, affected taxpayers warned that to increase the creditable withholding tax (CWT) rate might result in the…

Today, PERA may not only mean money. It may also represent an investment opportunity. Of course, not in reference to local legal tender, PERA, under Republic Act 9505, stands for Personal Equity and Retirement Account. This law came about because of the government’s drive to promote the development of the capital market by tapping in…

A PARTY-LIST lawmaker has urged the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to reconsider its earlier proposal to scrap the “study now, pay later” program despite its low repayment rate, it was learned on Monday.

In a separate report, HRW said the Philippine government should disable abusive paramilitary forces and take concrete steps to hold those responsible for killings and other rights violations to account.

At least 271 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were reported to have contracted the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 2011, higher by 56 percent compared to the 174 OFWs found HIV-positive in 2010, a Philippine lawmaker said on Monday.

Known as “the crewing capital of the world,” with more than 300,000 Filipinos working on maritime decks all over the globe, the Philippines must prioritize the ratification of Maritime Labor Convention of 2006 (MLC 2006), according to Bantay OCW maritime lawyer Dennis Gorecho.

MANILA, Philippines – HIV/AIDS cases will rise by 14,000 this year, according to projections by the Department of Health (DOH). Gerard Belimac, program manager for the department’s National AIDS/Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention and Control Program, said 60 percent of that increase will be in Metro Manila, Cebu City and Davao City.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino assured the public yesterday that the government would address concerns over rising oil prices by providing more assistance to the transport and ensuring stable prices of basic commodities. Aquino said the government is continuously conducting dialogues with transport groups and that measures are being readied to ease their plight. He…

THE services sector, which includes supermarkets, banks, hotels and restaurants, and logistics, will be the main creators of jobs between 2012 and 2020. This was one of the highlights of an extensive study which was revealed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Friday on the labor market in the Philippines until the…

THE number of Filipinos who considered themselves poor has decreased, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed on Thursday. Results of the survey, which were first published in BusinessWorld, showed that 45 percent of the respondents — an estimated 9.1 million households — said that they were “poor.”

HONGKONG—The number of domestics applying for permanent residency here has gone up to an average of more than 200 a month from just one before a landmark ruling in 2010 saying an Immigration ordinance stopping domestics from gaining permanent residency is unconstitutional.

FILIPINO children work in extremely hazardous fisheries. The most notorious and extremely dangerous of deep sea jobs is in muro-ami which employs children as swimmers and divers using nets to fish in reefs. Called reef hunters, they dive for fish or free snagged nets. The perception is that their smaller bodies are better for diving…

The much-touted Public-Private Partnership program did not take off last year. I put it down to “bureaucratic naiveté”. A new Cabinet whose expertise, in the main, was in successfully running private businesses. They had not come up against the lega l hoopla and bureaucratic inertia that pervades the Philippine government. Nor be involved in ensuring…

MANILA, Philippines – As it forecast Philippine growth at 4.8 percent this year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) gave some advice on how the country can address the challenges that a global downturn may bring.

PARIS: A long-term fall in the global abortion rate has tapered off and the number of unsafe pregnancy terminations is rising worryingly, according to a report published by The Lancet on Thursday. Between 1995 and 2003, the number of abortions around the world for every 1,000 women aged between 15 and 44 fell from 35…

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is aiming to increase to P95 billion a year the tax collections from self-employed individuals from only P9-billion annual tax take from this sector, its top official said.

The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) expects a positive outlook for the Philippine economy this year as its composite leading economic index (LEI) continued to improve.

The Monetary Board (MB) has decided yesterday to reduce the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s key policy interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.25 percent for the overnight borrowing or reverse repurchase (RRP) facility and 6.25 percent for the overnight lending or repurchase (RP) facility, effective immediately.

The corporate world is replete with management “fad-ism”—MBO, Six Sigma, benchmarking and leveraging. The underlying clinical concept may be valid. But relevance and organization ‘‘fit” is imperative for these concepts to create a better organization. Managing the change and readily responding to needed adjustment in execution, given the corporate culture, are imperative. Organizations are advised…

Large Philippine banks remain relatively stable in their lending operations, with an average non-performing loan ratio of below 3 percent in line with international standards, but some smaller banks engaged in consumer lending have bad loans as high as 60 percent of loan portfolio.

THE Department of Labor and Employment imposed a total ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino workers to the African country of South Sudan.

LAWMAKERS have pressed for a thorough congressional probe on the real financial status of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. following a controversial circular issued by the health insurance agency which effectively made it nearly impossible for local government units to sustain payment of premiums for their beneficiaries.

The World Bank (WB) reported that the Philippine economy is projected to grow by 4.2 percent this year mostly because of higher remittances from overseas Filipino workers and renewed public spending.

MANILA, Philippines – The government has allotted half a billion yearly for the industry competitiveness fund (ICF) to help big ticket investors operating in ecozones outside the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) cope with high electricity costs.

MANILA, Philippines – Retirees may be past the days of resolving to work out more. Yet when it comes to money in particular, resolutions may be even more important for those living on fixed income. From financial nuts and bolts to more holistic aims, here’s a look at seven worthy resolutions for retirees to commit…

THE PHILIPPINES is the third country with the lowest outlook for salary hikes this year, two foreign recruitment firms said. The study conducted by India-based recruitment platforms MyHiringClub.com and NriJobPortal.com said the general salary level in the Philippines would increase by 4.21% in 2012, placing third in the list of countries with lowest outlook, next…

The Trade Department is keeping an exports target of $80.2 billion this year despite the drop in shipments in 2011 and the possible impact of a bill in the US Congress on the business process outsourcing industry in the Philippines.