Better employment prospects seen

The Department of Finance (DoF) expects better employment prospects in the coming months, following the “timely passage” of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law.

“The timely passage of CREATE is a welcome development not only in improving the country’s long-term competitiveness but also in providing relief and support for enterprises, the important players in providing employment opportunities to a large portion of the population,” the DoF explained.

Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show both the number of employed and unemployed in February growing as the labor force likewise increased.

Labor force participation rate grew to 63.5 percent in February this year from just 60.5 percent last month.

“Potential employees saw that the economy had begun to stir back to recovery although this was not enough to create jobs for the 2.1 million persons who joined the labor force,” the agency said.

Employment grew by 4.6 percent, translating to 1.9 million new jobs while unemployment increased by 5.9 percent during the month.

Still, the employment rate marginally declined to 91.2 percent in February from the posted 91.3 percent month-ago while unemployment inched upwards to 8.8 percent from 8.7 percent in the same comparable period.

While at it, the agency reassured that despite the state’s decision to revert Metro Manila and its nearby provinces to the strictest quarantine measure, the government aims to avoid the draconian measures it imposed in the previous year.

“Like fiscal incentives that should be time-bound and targeted, strict quarantine measures, if and when they are called for, should be localized and time-bound while not unnecessarily hampering the transportation of goods and delivery of services so as to minimize the collateral damage on the economy and, consequently, employment,” the DoF explained.

“It is important that the health risks posed by the epidemic be managed effectively, either by pharmaceutical or non-pharmaceutical interventions, and with the conscientious participation of all,” it added.

To recall, public transport and other businesses were still allowed to operate at a limited capacity unlike when the same enhanced community quarantine measure was implemented year-ago.