PTV

MANILA — The reopening of the Philippine economy following the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the decrease in the country’s unemployment rate, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said Thursday.

In a public briefing, ECOP President Sergio Ortiz Luiz said the improvement in the country's employment situation was due to the reopening of many companies and the "Build, Build, Build" infrastructure program, among others.

“Well unang-una, tuluy-tuloy iyong ating pagbubukas ng ekonomiya, maraming kumpanya na nakasarado noon na nagbubukas na, at iyong programa natin sa Build, Build, Build siyempre, at marami rin tayong programa roon sa mga tourism industries – mga hotels, iyong mga resorts, restaurants ay nagbubukas, so marami ang nai-employ. At tuluy-tuloy naman ang trabaho natin doon sa manufacturing at saka sa construction,” Luiz said.

Ortiz Luiz also noted that the easing of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions allowed many micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to resume operations.

MSMEs are responsible for 65 percent of the country’s employment.

Ortiz Luiz also lauded the Marcos administration’s strategy for increasing employment in the country, particularly in attracting more investments.

“Tama naman ang ginagawa ng gobyerno ngayon; and the name of the game is getting investments and creating jobs. So, iyong pagbiyahe-biyahe ng Pangulo sa iba’t ibang bansa ay talagang nakaka-attract ng investments iyan. Lahat ng mga pledges ay hindi naman nagkakatotoo iyong iba, pero marami rin ay talagang natutuloy at marami riyan ang nagki-create ng jobs. At saka iyong tiwala ng mga international investments sa atin ay tumataas,” he said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest labor force survey released on Wednesday showed that the country’s joblessness rate decreased to 4.5 percent in October, down from 7.4 percent in the same period last year.

• Jobless rate eases but underemployment grows in October: PSA