Labor group sees Phl jobless rate to worsen

MANILA — One of the biggest labor groups on Wednesday said the unemployment rate of the country will further rise as an estimated 700,000 college graduates are expected to enter the labor force by next week.

In a recent survey, the unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent in January 2014 from 7.1 percent in January 2013. The National Statistics Office has reported that there are about 2.96 million unemployed Filipino out of 39.41 million labor force in January 2014, while 2.86 million were jobless and 37.94 million were employed in the same month last year.

" It’s not easy to dampen the hopes of new graduates but based on these data we do not see college graduates finding jobs right away," said Alan Tanjusay, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines spokesman.

For his part, Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions-TUCP attributed to the ineffective implementation of jobgenerating industry- led roadmaps specifically the manufacturing and agriculture sector as one of the major causes of joblessness.

" It suggests that many ( foreign or domestic) investors are reluctant to invest because the concerned government actors failed to act on the high cost of electricity, the lack of basic modern infrastructures, rampant smuggling, changing rules, declining peace and order, graft and corruption and judicial red tape," he said.

Seno added that the efforts of the Department of Labor and Employment such as the job fairs are not complimented by other government agencies to make a significant improvement in employment.