DOLE: More Metro workers quitting jobs

MANILA, Philippines - Many workers in Metro Manila are now leaving their jobs to seek better ones.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday that employment opportunities remained bright in Metro Manila despite the closure of commercial establishments in the region.

Labor Undersecretary Danilo Cruz said DOLE records showed more workers quit their jobs than those who got terminated by their employers during the first quarter of the year.

“Based on our data, majority of the recorded retrenchment in the first quarter were employee-initiated rather than employer-initiated,” Cruz said. “If the termination was employee-initiated this means the worker opted to resign because they are going or transferring to better employment.”

Labor Undersecretary Lourdes Trasmonte also reported that commercial establishments in Metro Manila posted more hirings than retrenchments in the first quarter of the year.

Citing results of survey done by the DOLE’s Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES), Trasmonte said employment in Metro Manila firms grew by 1.89 percent in the first three months of the year. She said companies recorded an accession rate of 11.36 percent compared to the separation rate of 9.47 percent.

“The data suggest an addition of 19 workers per 1,000 employee as against those 95 workers per 1,000 employee who were retrenched during the period,” she said.

Based on BLES data, most employers hired additional workers to replace those who have quit. A number of companies hired more workers due to expansion. Trasmonte further noted that most or 6.03 percent of the separation or termination were employee-initiated compared to the 3.44 percent employer-initiated.

“It is also more likely that most of those who have quit or terminated in the first quarter of the year, have move on productive employment as the country generated 1.408 million (jobs),” Trasmonte said.

Trasmonte issued the statement in reaction to reports that close to 5,000 workers in Metro Manila lost their jobs due to closures of firms in the region. Labor officials stressed that closure of establishments is a common occurrence, but they said the number of those that folded up was much lower than last year.