MANILA – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reaffirms the government’s commitment to labor upskilling in order to improve employability and maximize the benefits of the country’s demographic dividend.
This is in line with the report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) that the country’s employment rate in June 2023 was 95.5 percent, which is higher than the reported 94.0 percent in the same month last year. This translates to 48.84 million employed individuals in June 2023, up from 46.59 million in June 2022.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in June 2023 was 4.5 percent, which is lower than the 6.0 percent recorded in June of the previous year. Thus, the number of unemployed persons in June 2023 dropped from 2.99 million in June 2022 to 2.33 million.
Notably, the employment rate among the youth was estimated at 90.1 percent or 6.45 million, which is higher than the 88.2 percent in June 2022. Youth employment refers to individuals between the ages 15 and 24 who are part of the labor force and are employed.
“As the number of young workers continues to expand, the Marcos administration is exerting efforts to focus on training and upskilling to improve their employability for high-quality and high-paying jobs,” said NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan.
In the 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey conducted by PSA, it was found that the total fertility rate of Filipino women aged 15 to 49 years declined from 2.7 children per woman in 2017 to 1.9 children per woman in 2022.
This change leads to an overall increase in the working-age population (15-64 years of age) over time, the so-called demographic transition. When this is accompanied by higher investments in human capital and more high-quality job opportunities, then this translates to a demographic dividend.
Chapter 4 of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 outlines recommendations for equipping the young Philippine workforce with the necessary skills to enhance the income-earning potential of Filipino workers.
Moreover, it indicates that promoting further investments in technical and vocational education and training centers, digitalization, and innovation facilities is crucial for improving the skills and competitiveness of the Philippine workforce.
Balisacan said that this is critical, considering the entry of new and disruptive technologies.
“Modernizing training and vocational education facilities, as well as enhancing educational qualifications, competencies, and skills, are necessary to respond to the emergence of new demands for competencies and skills. These demands are a result of economic and technological transformations brought by emerging technologies in the market, such as artificial intelligence,” he added.
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