MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday signed a new law, called Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act, that will serve as the country's "master plan" for employment generation and recovery.

Principally sponsored and authored by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Republic Act No. 11962 or the "Act Establishing the National Employment Master Plan" seeks to address unemployment and underemployment, as well as the "increasing precarity and informality" of work arrangements and other challenges in the labor market, according to the National Economic and Development Authority.

"The law will focus on improving the employability and competitiveness of Filipino workers through upskilling and reskilling initiatives; and support micro, small, and medium enterprises and industry stakeholders," the Presidential Communications Office said.

The measure creates an inter-agency council, chaired by the NEDA secretary, and will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the employment situation and labor market in the country, the PCO and NEDA said.

The council will assist local government units in planning and implementing employment generation and recovery plans in their localities, they added.

"We support the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act as it contributes to the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, which aims to increase employability, expand access to employment opportunities, and achieve shared labor market governance," NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan in a release.

The unemployment rate in the Philippines rose to 4.8 percent in July — or some 2.27 million jobless Filipinos — from 4.5 percent in June, the Philippine Statistics Authority said in its latest report.

• Unemployment, underemployment climb in July from June

"With the passage of the TPB (Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act), this will facilitate stronger coordination and partnership among relevant agencies and stakeholders for the efficient implementation of employment programs," Balisacan said.

In a statement, Villanueva said the enactment of the measure "is also a fulfillment of the Philippines' commitment to the International Labor Organization (ILO) No. 122, or the Employment Policy Convention, which calls for an active employment policy to be pursued as a major goal of macroeconomic policy."

The Philippines in 1976 ratified ILO Convention No. 122, which states that "each member state shall pursue, as a major goal, an active policy designed to promote "full, productive and freely chosen employment", according to the statement.

Villanueva said he hopes the funding and resources needed under the law will be allocated.

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