By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday showed employment in Western Visayas tanking significantly as of January 2021.
The PSA released its Employment Situation in January 2021 on Tuesday. It is based on the Labor Force Survey conducted on Jan. 8 to 31, 2021 that covered 44,627 eligible sample households across the country.
The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) – which refers to the rate of persons aged 15 and over who are working or actively seeking work – is 60.5 percent nationwide, rising slightly after going down to 58.7 percent in October 2020, but also still lower than 61.7 percent in January 2020.
The national employment rate remained at 91.3 percent, the same rate in October 2020, but still lower than 94.7 percent in January 2020.
The national unemployment rate stabilized in January 2021, remaining at 8.7 percent like in October 2020 when it drastically increased from 5.3 percent in January 2020.
Underemployment also increased in the country in January 2021 at 16 percent, from 14.4 percent in October 2020 and 14.8 percent in January 2020.
Unemployment refers to those aged 15 and above who are actively looking for work but have not found any, while underemployment pertains to members of the labor force who are employed but whose work is not in line with their educational attainment.
The labor force rates in Western Visayas are also looking negative, with employment rate going down to 90.9 percent in January 2021, compared to 94.1 in October 2020 and 94.4 in January 2020.
The region’s LFPR is the only rate in the data with positive numbers, as it went up to 62.6 percent in January 2021, well ahead of the national rate, and also higher than 57.4 percent in October 2020 and 60.3 percent in January 2020.
Unemployment rate in the region increased to 9.1 percent in January 2021, from 5.9 percent in October 2020 and 5.6 percent in January 2020.
Underemployment in the region also alarmingly increased to 21.1 percent, from only 12.9 percent in October 2020 and 12.5 percent in January 2021.
The rates in the PSA’s survey were based on estimates from the 2015 Population Census population projections.
POSSIBLE REASONS
Niezel Sabrido, Senior Labor and Employment Officer at the Department of Labor and Employment-Region 6 (DOLE-6), told Daily Guardian that they had not been provided the latest PSA data, but said that they will look into the data.
The trend of unemployment and underemployment may be due to the continued impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the region, affecting the tourism sector in particular.
“Despite the fact that there have been easing of restrictions, borders and establishments have slowly opened up, there have only been a small amount of tourists. If not, we are also still not accepting foreign tourists. So, that has really has been a big effect on the sector itself,” Sabrido said in a phone interview.
Sabrido said that DOLE-6 continues to implement its welfare and employment programs, targeting the unemployed sectors, those who are laid off, and those who are wanting to put up their own businesses.
DOLE-6 has also been continuously processing applications and requirements for the tourism sector-specific COVID-19 Adjustment Measure Program (CAMP) according to her.
Funding for the said program under the Republic Act No. 11494 (Bayanihan to Recover as One Act) were extended up to June 30, 2021 via Rep. Act No. 11519 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Jan. 6, 2021.
