Clark Freeport firms recovering from crisis

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines – Because of the sound economic agenda instituted by the administration of Clark Development Corp. president Benigno Ricafort and the support of the state-owned firm to the various crisis-affected firms, most Clark locators are able to recover from the economic meltdown.

In a report to Ricafort, the CDC’s Customer Service Department (CSD) said Clark was able to breach the more than 57,000-employee mark since the crisis left almost 3,000 jobless in April 2009.

The worldwide economic crisis has taken its toll on the freeport, especially on the number of workers, which declined by nearly 3,000 – from 57,790 in December 2008 to 54,829 workers in April last year.

The CSD reported to Ricafort that as of Nov. 30 last year, there were a total of 57,023 workers at Clark, or an increase of 2,194 from April last year.

On Dec. 31, 2008, the CSD recorded an all-time high employment record of 57,790 workers, but there was a sharp decrease after the crisis hit the freeport’s exporting and manufacturing industries during the second quarter of last year.

Ricafort said in a statement that the increase in jobs is an indication of continued economic recovery, boosted by the entry of new projects signed last year.

An upsurge in the number of Clark workers is expected once Texas Instruments is fully operational this year, as it is seen to generate more than 3,000 direct jobs.

Ricafort said the CDC is also optimistic that the 60,000-worker mark would be achieved this year following the incorporation of CDC’s Next Frontier project, which is now enticing tourism and industrial projects.