High underemployment rate still a major concern in CV

CEBU, Philippines - Despite the positive trend in the employment rate of Central Visayas since 2012, the underemployment rate of the region remains to be a major concern.

In 2012, early data showed that the underemployment rate of the region nearly breached the 20 percent mark in 2012, which means that one out of five employed persons in the region is underemployed.

However, the latest report from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA-7) revealed that for the last two quarters of 2012, the region’s underemployment rate registered a gradual decline in the number of underemployed workers dropping below the 20 percent by the year end.

As a result, the region’s annual underemployment rate just about approximated the national average of 20 percent after showing initial signs of eclipsing the Philippines’ average.

An increase in the number of persons being accepted in higher quality jobs contributed to recent improvements in the underemployment rate.

Thus, NEDA-7 said that the region needs to work harder in generating not only employment but also quality jobs in order to further bring down underemployment as well as achieve the plan target of a higher employment rate.

On the other hand, Central Visayas’ employment rate in 2012 showed increasing trend, reaching 93.5 percent in October last year after starting the year at 92.5 percent.

Compared to the previous year, however, the region’s employment rate was lower for most of 2012, averaging 92.9 percent against 93.3 percent in 2011. This is below the plan target of an annual employment rate in 2012 of at least 93.5 percent.

Compared to the national average, Central Visayas registered an employment rate in 2012 of less than the 93.0 percent Philippine average. The previous year (2011) saw a better employment scenario with the region exhibiting an annual employment rate higher than the national average.

Earlier, University of Asia & the Pacific economic professor Bernardo Villegas said that Cebu’s and the rest of Central Visayas region could improve its underemployment rate, and provide employment opportunities across all segment in the skilled and educated population, by re-enforcing its attraction to manufacturing sector.

“You have to go back in attracting the manufacturing related investments again,” Villegas said.

Economic experts believe that the Philippines including Cebu should seriously consider in attracting the manufacturing investments, in order to solve its unemployment problem, and balance the job opportunity distribution that will include the grassroots.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) senior country economist Norio Usui, likewise believes that the Philippines has a huge opportunity to re-capture the manufacturing related investments in the world.

Usui said that the reason why most Filipinos do not feel the good economic state in the country, although supported by real figures, is because it is currently walking on “one leg,” which means that opportunities are only available to some segments, but the majority do not get the same opportunity of employment,  due to  its weak development in the manufacturing sector.

In BPO or tourism sectors, only the college graduates, or those that have good education background will be able to get the employment opportunities, but the other on the side of the spectrum, those that used to get employment in the manufacturing and agriculture slowly losing livelihood, or job opportunities. /JOB (FREEMAN)