DOLE mulls short work hours

Setup to boost hiring of K-12 graduates, dropouts

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is looking into the possibility of reducing the number of working hours to boost the employment of K-12 graduates and school dropouts.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III yesterday reported that the DOLE is set to study the part-time work or reduced work period setup, especially for low-paying jobs.

“The reduced work time (scheme) is suited to school dropouts and even graduates of senior high school since this will give them ample time for study and enable them to graduate to higher-paying jobs later on,” Bello said.

The DOLE has been implementing various programs to boost employment and reduce the country’s high unemployment rate. The youth accounted for the biggest bulk of the unemployed in the country.

Bello said the DOLE is providing efficient and easier access to vital labor market information and employment opportunities to jobseekers across industries.

“On top of these, we are bent on expanding our government internship, the (Public Employment Service Office) and JobStart Philippines programs,” Bello added.

The DOLE has also put in place a number of interventions targeting poor workers engaged in precarious or vulnerable work, such as access to educational and training opportunities.

Based on DOLE data, the economy generated a net employment of 625,000 last April or about 40.896 million employed persons compared with the 40.271 million employed for the same period last year.

The single biggest contributor to this positive net employment generation is the construction sector, which registered a net employment of 468,000, he said.

Bello expressed optimism that more jobs will be generated by the construction sector as a result of the government’s Build, Build, Build program.

“This ambitious undertaking translates to jobs, jobs, jobs and more jobs for our people since its launch and into the remaining years of the Duterte administration,” he said.