Unravel The Unemployment Problem In The Philippines

The latest labor statistics show the stubbornness of the unemployment problem in this country in the face of a respectable growth rate. This has forced the country’s Chief Executive to call for a meeting of his official family to discuss the issue. Indeed the level of unemployment and under-employment in this country which involves no less than a quarter of the working force rooted in underperforming sectors of the economy is the primary cause of the income maldistribution and high poverty rates. The consensus of most economists here and abroad with regard to the local unemployment situation appears to have the following key features:

Creating a more direct link between education and employment

The phenomenon of the educated unemployed calls into question the appropriateness and relevance of the educational system, especially at the higher levels in this country.

Reduce rural migration

The last half-century in this country has been associated with urbanization which in turn has attracted migration from thru province bringing down the total population in agriculture.

Employment strategy package

Post-war growth in the Philippines, dominated by a capital intensive consumer import substitution strategy with its bias further against labour-using technology quickly ran aground in the mid-nineties. Unfortunately the failed strategy did not pay sufficient attention to the mobilization of resources in the traditional rural sector.

The diversification drive must emphasis the move towards labor-intensive industrialization to service the burgeoning domestic market of close to a 100 million people and the export market export. For such a non-traditional export drive to be successful, past biases against the use of labour must be corrected so that international markets can be penetrated with wider participation by medium- and small-scale entrepreneurs.

Source:

http://www.manilatimes.net/solving-the-unemployment-problem/80176/