EDITORIAL - Record high unemployment

With businesses shuttered and jobs and livelihoods in limbo due to quarantine measures undertaken to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, a spike in unemployment and underemployment was inevitable. Still, the figures were dismaying. In April, the first full month of the COVID-19 quarantine, unemployment soared to 17.7 percent from 5.1 percent in the same period last year, while underemployment jumped from 13.4 percent to 18.9.

This translated into 7.254 million jobless – up from the 2.267 million in April 2019. The April Labor Force Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed all regions registering double-digit unemployment, with the highest reported in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Officials led by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno have stressed that the unemployment and underemployment were state-induced to contain COVID-19. He stressed that the figures were “grossly exaggerated” and did not reflect the true state of the Philippine economy.

Amid the pandemic, however, practically every Filipino probably knows someone who has lost his job or become underemployed. Some of those jobs will no longer be regained as businesses are shuttered or downscaled for good. The Department of Labor and Employment had previously estimated that measures to contain the pandemic could cost up to 10 million jobs.

With quarantine measures being eased and the economy reopening, the employment situation is expected to improve in the coming months. While social amelioration and other assistance programs are appreciated, most people are eager to resume sustainable employment and livelihoods. Unfortunately, a significant number will find no more jobs to return to, including thousands of overseas Filipino workers.

An economic stimulus package is being drawn up by Congress together with the executive branch, to help both the business and labor sectors. Alongside the package, every effort must be made to improve the business climate in the country. Reforms – long overdue even before the pandemic – are needed to accelerate growth and create jobs in various economic sectors. The crisis is opening new economic growth areas and livelihood opportunities.

E-commerce needs efficient regulation. With online transactions now part of the new normal, greater effort is needed to improve the digital infrastructure and services, and prevent the deepening of the digital divide between the tech-savvy and those with little or no access to digital technology. Economic recovery is inevitable as quarantine measures are eased. Opportunities for reforms must be maximized to save jobs and create new ones.