EDITORIAL — The right jobs

It’s good to know that 92.2 percent of Filipinos of working age are gainfully employed — up from 91.9 percent last year, according to the National Statistics Office. The picture would be better if most of those people are employed in regular jobs that pay a decent wage.

As in the past, however, most of those who account for the high employment rate are laborers, unskilled workers, and those in the agricultural sector whose jobs are seasonal. In the past, the government has included agricultural jobs during harvest time in employment figures, touting the creation of a million jobs each year.

High employment figures would be most appreciated when the quality of jobs improves. As economic experts have pointed out, however, the country isn’t attracting enough job-generating investments. The dearth of such investments as well as depressingly low salaries in this country are driving overseas a steady stream of Filipinos, including teachers, health professionals and skilled workers in specialized fields such as aviation. Over eight million Filipinos are now working abroad, most of them away from their families. The best way to bring them back to their own land is to create the right jobs.

A study of the employment situation also shows that while the employment figures appear good, young professionals have bleak job prospects. This is another indication that not enough quality jobs — the types that pay a decent wage — are being created.

Recently, the country representative of the World Bank noted that foreign direct investments in the Philippines are "extraordinarily low." Joachim von Amsberg said the situation raised questions about the sustainability of economic gains. He then enumerated several factors that would encourage more investments — proposals that have been aired several times in the past by foreign business groups.

Those investments are needed as sources of revenue to finance the improvement of basic services including education, which would raise the quality of the nation’s workforce. Those investments are needed to create enough jobs. Those investments will create the kind of employment situation that will make a dent in the poverty rate and end the diaspora that is draining the country of its most precious resource — its people.