THE Philippines’ largest labor federation said on Thursday that it filed a petition for a P418 pay increase in Davao, which would bring the region’s daily minimum wage to P814.  

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) cited in its petition that the last wage hike in Region 11 took effect in February 2019.   

“Wages were set to the cost of living three years ago. The wages are no longer able to cope with current cost of living,” TUCP President Raymond Democrito Mendoza said, citing increases in fuel and food prices. 

The TUCP also noted that poverty incidence in the region was high based on 2021 first half data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority.  

Of the five provinces in the region, Davao Occidental’s poverty rate was 31.7%, while Davao Oriental’s was 24.5%.   

Davao de Oro’s poverty rate was 21.8%; Davao del Norte 13.6%; and Davao del Sur, which geographically includes Davao City, 7.9%.  

The TUCP said that according to 2021 government estimates, monthly incomes in the region should be P13,619 to stay above the poverty threshold. Monthly income is P10,296 at the current minimum wage of P396. 

“Our minimum wage earners and their families fell below the poverty level even before the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the succeeding oil price hikes that are now pushing up the prices of basic goods and services,” Mr. Mendoza said.  

The TUCP last week filed a wage hike petition of P430 in the Central Visayas or Region VII, which includes Cebu City.  

In the Western Visayas or Region VI, the regional wage board issued a notice of public hearing for the minimum wage petition filed by the Bacolod City-based FISHTA Union of Employees Reforms Through Solidarity Actions.  

The labor group is seeking a new minimum wage of P750 across all sectors in the Western Visayas. The hearings are set for April 8, 11, and 12 at various venues across the region. 

The last wage hike Region VI took effect in November 2019, with minimum daily rates ranging from P310 for non-agricultural establishments with up to 10 workers to P395 for those with more than 10 employees. — Maya M. Padillo and Marifi S. Jara 

THE PANDEMIC pushed millions of older Americans out of the labor force. It should have spawned a surge in Social Security benefits applications — but it hasn’t. Perhaps because they aren’t retired. 

The disconnect has economists wondering how many of these baby boomers might come back to the workforce — a key question when job openings have remained near record levels for months now.  

Here’s a look at the data and the debate it has spurred: 

The retired share of the population is now substantially higher than before COVID-19, according to a Federal Reserve analysis. About 2.6 million older workers retired above ordinary trends since the start of the pandemic two years ago, based on estimates by Miguel Faria e Castro, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 

Under the US’s federal retirement program, eligible workers receive a percentage of their pre-retirement income in monthly payments from the government. Workers can start receiving Social Security payments at age 62, with full benefits coming at age 66 or 67 depending on their date of birth.   

Despite the surge in baby boomers saying in surveys they retired, applications for Social Security benefits have been fairly flat, based on calculations by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research. Around 0.1% of the US population 55 and older have applied each month, which is consistent with what was happening before the pandemic. 

The lack of Social Security filings is a bit of a mystery for Laura Quinby, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research. Older Americans often feel the need to apply for benefits in person, so the closure of the Social Security Administration’s local offices during the pandemic might have dissuaded some from applying. 

Others might be waiting to reach their late 60s to be eligible for full benefits, Quinby said. Thanks to the COVID-era boom in stock and real estate values, individuals who own assets and have savings can afford to delay applying. 

The surge in assets made this an “opportune time for some workers to step out of the labor force and stay out of the labor force,” said Lowell R. Ricketts, data scientist for the Institute for Economic Equity at the St. Louis Fed.  

“But we’re still expecting a steady, steady trend that some might want to come back,” he said, especially with the advent of remote and hybrid work, which may lure seniors back to the job market. 

Unlike in other developed countries, retirement isn’t necessarily a permanent shift in the US. Before COVID, it wasn’t uncommon that Americans would “un-retire,” out of financial hardship or personal choice. It’s too early to tell whether the pandemic has changed that dynamic permanently or not. 

The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Chief Actuary suggested older people may have “retired” from one job and continued working in another. That would explain why they’re not applying for benefits. 

And people under 62 wouldn’t qualify for Social Security anyway.  Among them is Hope Cabot, 61, who left her teaching job in Roswell, Georgia, in December. The stress of caring for a mother and of having to teach virtually pushed her to retire sooner than she anticipated. She plans to be a substitute teacher to stay busy and bring in some extra cash to help keep up with high inflation, she said. 

“During the pandemic, it was crazy,” she said. “I was not planning on retiring until the end of this year or the end of next year.” 

So far Bureau of Labor Statistics data on labor participation show that some baby boomers have come back, while many are remaining on the sidelines. 

It’s possible that COVID-19 has led to a reckoning for a generation that reached retirement age when a global pandemic hit their age group disproportionally and threatened life as we knew it. It makes it even more difficult to predict if and when they might look for a job again. 

“Just as is the case with younger workers who have seen opportunities to think differently about their lives, people in this demographic are thinking, ‘What do I really want to do with my life,’” said Doug Dickson, who chairs the Encore Boston Network, which helps older workers find a job or volunteer opportunities. “Are they really retired or are they just defaulting to that language because it’s the easiest way to characterize it?” — Bloomberg 

BusinessWorld Labor and Management columnist Rey Elbo was recognized this month by Spain’s IE University in Madrid, organizer of the Ibero-American and Asian Economic Journalism Awards. 

Mr. Elbo, who writes the BusinessWorld column In the Workplace, won for Asian economic journalism with “What’s the best employee feedback mechanism?,” published in August 2019. 

The award was presented in Madrid on March 23 at the Palacio de Linares. 

The awards recognize the best journalism with an economic focus published in Latin America and Asia. This year, the awards committee evaluated over 150 submissions. 

“It is important to recognize and shine light on leading journalism in the fields of Economics and Business, which intersects with the academic world to help us understand the world, its complexity and to anticipate its development. The work being recognized today fulfills this very important mission,” said Manuel Muñiz, provost of IE University.  

The seventh edition of the economic journalism awards for Asia also recognized VietNamNet for Best Regional Media in Asia and Wu Chen of China’s Economic Observer for his article, “Latin America, another lost decade,” which won the award for Best Article on Latin American Economy in Asia.