A mural in Paco, Manila is seen on May 16, 2022. — PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter 

HIGHER wages and more public-sector jobs are critical in addressing the worsening unemployment and soaring prices of basic goods in the Philippines, according to labor groups. 

“What is needed is a comprehensive response that would include wage increases that would allow workers not just to recover lost wages but actually improve their lives,” Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa Secretary-General (SENTRO) Josua T. Mata said in a Viber message.  

“After opening up the economy, we are back to slugging jobs generation like what we had during the pre-pandemic period.” 

The Philippine jobless rate in January rose to a four-month high of 4.8% as temporary holiday jobs shed, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported last week.  

Job quality worsened that month as unemployment, a measure of employed Filipinos seeking more work, jumped to 14.1% from 12.6% in December.  

Renato B. Magtubo, chairman of Partido Manggagawa, said the government should implement a well-funded employment program to boost public sectors such as health, housing and transportation.  

“In the long run, government investment in this kind of public employment program will not only address the perennial problem of unemployment and underemployment but more so improve the capacity of delivering quality public services,” he said in a Viber message.  

He said the government’s emergency employment programs will not be enough to provide stable jobs for the Philippine labor force.  

Inflation, meanwhile, continues to be a problem for minimum-wage workers despite a slight improvement in February, Mr. Mata said.  

“A robust public employment program that would provide guaranteed jobs and incomes for those who would be stuck in the structural unemployment that we are starting to see would allow industries to develop and generate jobs that we all deserve,” SENTRO’s secretary general said.  

Last months inflation slowed to 8.6% from 8.7% in January, but core inflation accelerated to 7.8%, its fastest pace in over 22 years.  

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has said that Filipinos are still being employed in high-quality jobs despite the uptick in joblessness.  

In a statement on Saturday, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) said it will continue coordinating with public and private stakeholders to finalize a national labor and employment plan this year.  

“These efforts shall achieve our desired outcomes in terms of employment and mobility, and better respond to economic opportunities, which includes prioritization of upskilling and reskilling of the workforce to equip them with higher competencies by expanding lifelong learning opportunities,” DoLE said.