Ex-NEDA chief laments ‘jobless growth’ for Phl

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – Former  National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Cielito Habito described yesterday as “jobless growth” the country’s economic gains that have overtaken its neighbors in Southeast Asia.

In an interview here with The STAR, Habito said unemployment would continue to worsen unless the government provides a “broader credit base for small and medium businesses.”

Habito blamed the gap between the country’s 7.5-percent economic growth in the second quarter of this year and the rising unemployment rate to technology. “Our growth is not leading to more jobs like before.  It’s a technology that’s labor saving,” he noted.

“Jobless growth has become an unfortunate side product of our economic growth,” he said.

He warned that the gap between economic growth and unemployment would persist unless the government pursues “inclusive growth coming from a growing base”, specifically the granting of more financing opportunities for small and medium businesses.

“Most of our small and medium businesses lack apportunities for financing which is already being done in more advanced countries where there are even stock exchanges especially for them” he said.

Habito noted that in Japan, there is even a “mothers’ stock exchange” on top of that meant for big-time investors.

“That should be the single biggest strategy against jobless growth,” he said.

Despite slowdown in the economies of its Southeast Asian neighbors, the Philippine economy grew at a higher than expected annual rate of 7.5 percent in the second quarter of 2013.  This has made the Philippine economy the fastest growing economy among emerging economies in the ASEAN region.

NEDA noted that the 7.5 percent growth, which is the same as China’s, surpassed Indonesia’s 5.8 percent, Vietnam’s 5 percent, Malaysia’s 4.3 percent, Singapore’s 3.8 percent, and Thailand’s 2.8 percent.”

Habito said that at this rate, the Philippines would be able to even surpass ASEAN’s top economic performers “in 10 years or even less.”

He attributed this growth to “domestic investments while neighboring countries are into exports.”

“Of course, significant local consumption will always be there because of the remittances of overseas Filipino workers. Also government infrastructure has also been of help,” he added.

This, amid statistics indicating that the Philippine labor force grew nearly two percent to 41.17 million in July, from 40.4 million a year ago. Figures also revealed that the percentage of Filipinos living below  the poverty line has remained unchanged since 2006.