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What causes unemployment in the Philippines?

In: Unemployment [Edit categories]

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The more probable cause of unemployment in the Philippines is the unavailability of jobs provided. With a growing population of about a 8 million, millions needed jobs and only few can sure provide one. The lack of investors and businesses that could provide good jobs for the Filipino people is one key factor in the growing unemployment in the Philippines. But probably, one cause of unemployment in the Philippines may be lack of education. With the increasing demands of the fast developing world, it is really hard to find jobs when you are not a graduate of a particular skill or course. Though the Philippines is a literate country, its not enough to be able to reach the qualifications of most in-demand jobs because even mere sales ladies nowadays are required to have at least 1-2 years in college. We are facing a competitive world and its a must to reach the norms of development. Thus, a high educational attainment, which most Filipinos lack, is one way to uplift the unemployment rate of the country.

EMPLOYMENT AND LABOR RELATIONS


Philippines Table of Contents

A high rate of population growth, lack of access to land, insufficient job creation in industry, and a history of inappropriate economic policies contributed to high unemployment and underemployment and a relatively high proportion of the labor force being in low-productivity, service sector jobs in the late 1980s. Real wages were low, having declined at about 3 percent per year since 1960, and relatively weak labor unions were unable to substantially affect the deterioration of workers' earning power.
Labor Force and Employment

Population growth averaged 2.9 percent from 1965 to 1980 and 2.5 percent in the late 1980s. While more than 40 percent of the population was below fifteen years of age, the growth of the working-age population--those fifteen years of age and older--was even more rapid than total population growth. In the 1980s, the working-age population grew by 2.7 percent annually. In addition, the labor force participation

rate--the proportion of working-age people who were in the labor force-rose approximately 5 percentage points during the 1980s, largely because of the increase in the proportion of women entering the work force. So the actual labor force grew by 750,000 people or approximately 4 percent each year during the 1980s. Agriculture, which had provided most employment, employed only approximately 45 percent of the work force in 1990, down from 60 percent in 1960. Manufacturing industry was not able to make up the difference. Manufacturing's share of employed people remained stable at about 12 percent in 1990. The service sector (commerce, finance, transportation, and a host of private and public services), perforce, became the residual employer, accounting for almost 40 percent of the work force in 1988 as contrasted with 25 percent in 1960. Much of this growth was in small-scale enterprises or self-employment activities such as hawking and vending, repair work, transportation, and personal services. Such endeavors are often referred to as the "informal sector," because of the lack of record keeping by its enterprises and a relative freedom from government regulation, monitoring, or reporting. Informal sector occupations were characterized by low productivity, modest fixed assets, long hours of work, and low wages. According to a 1988 study of urban poor in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao cities published in the Philippine Economic Journal, more than half of the respondents engaged in informal sector work as their primary income-generating activity. Unemployment, which had averaged about 4.5 percent during the 1970s, increased drastically following the economic crises of the early 1980s, peaking in early 1989 at 11.4 percent. Urban areas fared worse; unemployment in mid-1990, for example, remained above 15 percent in Metro Manila. Beyond the unemployment generated from economic mismanagement and crises was a more long-term, structural employment problem, a consequence of the highly concentrated control of productive assets and the inadequate number of work places created by investment in the industrial economy. The size and growth of the service sector was one indicator. Underemployment was another. Underemployment has been predominantly a problem for poor, less educated, and older people. The unemployed have tended to be young, inexperienced entrants into the labor force, who were relatively well educated and not heads of households. In the first half of the 1980s, approximately 20 percent of male household heads and 35 percent of

female household heads were unable to find more than forty days of work a quarter. Overseas migration absorbed a significant amount of Philippine labor. From the late 1940s through the 1970s, migrants were largely Filipino members of the United States armed services, professionals, and relatives of those who had previously migrated. After liberalization of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act in October 1965, the number of United States immigrant visas issued to Filipinos increased dramatically from approximately 2,500 in 1965 to more than 25,000 in 1970. Most of those emigrating were professionals and their families. By 1990 Filipino-Americans numbered 1.4 million, making them the largest Asian community in the United States. In the 1970s and 1980s, quite a different flow of migration developed: most emigrants were workers engaged in contract work in the Middle East and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere. Although some were professionals, the majority were production, construction, and transport and equipment workers or operators, as well as service workers. An increasing number also were merchant seamen. Inasmuch as wages paid for overseas contract work have been a multiple of what Filipinos could earn at home, such employment opportunities have been in great demand. Government statistics show that overseas placements of landbased workers increased from 12,500 in 1975 to 385,000 in 1988, a growth rate of about 30 percent per annum. The number of seamen also increased, from 23,500 in 1975, to almost 86,000 in 1988. The average stay abroad was 3.1 years for land-based workers and 6.3 years for seamen. In 1982 the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration was established in the Ministry of Labor and Employment. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration consolidated responsibility for regulating overseas land-based workers and seamen, supervising recruitment, as well as adjudicating complaints and conflicts. The agency also was tasked with promoting employment opportunities abroad for Filipinos. Overseas employment created two benefits for the economy: jobs and foreign exchange. The total number of placements abroad from 1980 through 1988, 3.2 million, was about one-half the growth in the country's labor supply during that period. Remittances through the banking system for the period 1983 to 1988 totaled approximately US$4.6 billion, an amount equal to 14 percent of merchandise exports during the same period. The Central Bank estimated that remittances passing through "informal channels" might be as much as twice the documented figure. If so, export of labor would be

the largest single earner of foreign exchange.


Labor Relations

From independence in 1946 until martial law was declared in 1972, the government encouraged collective bargaining and, except for setting up a commission in 1970 to supervise the fixing of minimum wages, involved itself minimally in labor relations. For most of the martial law period (1972-81), strikes were forbidden or severely limited. The Marcos labor code of 1974 made arbitration compulsory. The right to strike was partially restored in 1976, but with considerable restrictions. The Aquino government took a somewhat more liberal approach to labor, but some of the structures of the Marcos period remained. Organized labor in the Philippines has been relatively weak. In 1986 it was estimated that about 2.2 million Filipinos were part of the union movement, accounting for approximately 20 percent of the wage-andsalary work force or 10 percent of the total labor force. These workers were organized into some 2,000 unions, half of which were not connected to a national union or federation. In 1987 only 350,000 workers were covered by collective bargaining agreements. The largest union body was the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP). Formed in December 1974, it was designated the official labor center of the Philippines by the Marcos government. Another labor organization, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), or the May First Movement, was formed in July 1980, bringing together nine broadly based, more ideologically oriented unions. The two major union centers represented sharply different visions of the role of unions in society. Although TUCP supported Marcos, it represented itself as a proponent of nonpolitical unionism, concerned primarily with the collective bargaining process. The KMU was more openly political, projecting itself as a proponent of "genuine, militant, and nationalist unionism." Going beyond collective bargaining, the KMU called for the formation of worker solidarity movements and advocated a nationalist-oriented alternative to the prevailing economic and social policies of the government. The Labor Advisory and Consultative Council (LACC), formed at the onset of the Aquino administration in 1986 by then Labor Minister Agusto Sanchez, drew the various factions of the labor movement together to advise the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Membership in LACC included the KMU, the Federation of Free Workers, Lakas Ng Manggagawa Labor Center, and, for a short while, the TUCP. When Aquino came into office in 1986, she had the backing of a wide

spectrum of the population, including those affiliated with labor unions. In her May 1 speech that year, before a large and enthusiastic gathering of labor groups, Aquino presented a package of labor-law reforms, including extension of the right to strike, making it easier to petition for a union certification election, and abrogation of repressive labor legislation decreed by the Marcos government. Soon, however, the president began to shift ground as she received vigorous protests by both Filipino and foreign businessmen against her May Day promises. The pledges were rethought, modified in some cases, and not promulgated in others. This willingness to respond to the interests of the boardroom rather than the shop floor also extended to official appointments. In particular, her first minister of labor, Agusto Sanchez, was considered to be too prolabor and eased out within a year of his appointment. The TUCP was generally supportive of the Aquino government, but the KMU and other progressive unions resisted the conservative drift of her administration through strikes, demonstrations, and antigovernment rallies. The KMU gained influence through its leadership of the national strike, or Welga ng Bayan, in 1987, 1989, and 1990. From September to December 1990, the KMU led a series of general strikes in response to dramatic increases in the prices of petroleum products. These labor actions were noteworthy both because of a heightened level of conflict between strikers and the authorities and because of the participation of professionals and other middle-class groups. Repression of labor activists, widespread during the Marcos era, resurfaced early in the Aquino administration. In November 1986, the chairman of the KMU was murdered. The following January, the army opened fire on a march of the Peasant Movement of the Philippines (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas--KMP) and their supporters who were protesting the lack of government action on land reform. Eighteen were killed and nearly 100 wounded. In 1990 the government charged two KMU labor leaders with sedition: Medardo Roda, the head of PISTON, a federation of drivers, and Crispin Beltran, the chairman of KMU. Old charges of slander and fraud dating back to 1967 and 1971 were revived against Beltran. The government also imprisoned the leader of the KMP, Jaime Tadeo, on ten-year-old fraud charges initiated against him by the Marcos government. After a 1990 violent strike, during which an estimated 500 participants were arrested, both the military and government officials suggested banning the KMU as a communist-front organization. More about the Economy of the Philippines.
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Philippines tackles high unemployment rate amid economic crisis (philstar.com) Updated March 02, 2009 02:04 AM

MANILA (Xinhua) -- Unemployment rate in the Philippines is expected to remain high in the next few months as the global economic crisis crimps business activities, analysts said. The Philippines has one of the highest unemployment level in Southeast Asia, standing at 6.8 percent as of October 2008, according to the country's National Statistics Office. The global economic turmoil has dampened demand in Japan, the United States and Western Europe -- large markets for Philippine export goods, services and migrant workers. As these markets contracted, so did the demand for Philippine labor. "Workers will always be the victims in a recession," said Father Edwin Corros, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines' Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerants. "When there's no demand for your products, how can you continue to hire people to make your products?" said Rene Cristobal, vice president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, Inc. (ECOP). Cristobal said several of ECOP's member-companies have to lay off workers as they either close shops or reduce their output. Analysts said the most vulnerable workers are those in the exportoriented industries such as electronics and textile manufacturing. "The recession in our trading partners has hit our exports sector hard," said Philippine Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto. Philippine economic planners expect export receipts to fall this year and this doesn't bode well for workers, especially for those employed in labor-intensive manufacturing companies. Indeed, several companies reported either laying off workers or cutting working hours as the crisis reduced demand for Philippine exports. In Luzon, northern Philippines, Intel Corp., the first US semiconductor firm that established a facility in the Philippines, shut down its factory and retrenched 1,800 workers. In Cebu, southern Philippines, furniture maker and exporter Giardini del Sole Inc. has temporarily shut down and laid off about 250 workers as a result of the financial crisis.

The Philippine Labor Department reported that 40,000 workers were retrenched, 33,000 workers are experiencing shorter working hours while over 5,400 overseas Filipino workers were displaced because of the crisis. Dennis Arroyo, director of national planning and policy of the National Economic and Development Authority, forecast that as much as 200,000 workers may be laid off as the crisis continues to hurt the local economy. However, the director doesn't expect the unemployment level to hit double-digit levels which were recorded several years ago. In a paper issued last month, Josef T. Yap, president of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, expect unemployment levels to stay at current levels. "Assuming that the economy will not decelerate further in 2009, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic that the unemployment rate will not rise beyond 6.8 percent in the next few months," he said. Recto conceded the crisis will pressure the employment situation, but he believed that the strong macroeconomic fundamentals combined with the 330-billion-peso (about 6.84 billion US dollars) stimulus package will cap the growth in unemployment rate. For this year, despite the global recession, the Philippine GDP is expected to expand at 3.7 percent to 4.4 percent. Recto said the easing of inflation (estimated to hit 3.9 percent this year compared to last year's 9.3 percent) will boost consumption and keep the economy afloat. The stimulus package -- the bulk of which will be used to build infrastructures -- will create 800,000 new jobs. Luz Lorenzo, regional economist of the ATR Kim Eng Securities, agrees that the consumption driving Philippine economy will be resilient this year. But such economic growth, she said, is not high enough to absorb the burgeoning labor force. "The economy will not fall in the deep end. But neither will it be a bed of roses. Unemployment will remain a problem," she said. Migration: by need not by choice The lack of opportunities in the Philippines will force most Filipinos to seek greener pastures abroad. Every year, around one million Filipinos go overseas, mostly forced to leave their families to provide them with a better life.

Father Corros said most of the retrenched migrant workers that the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerants has been assisting in the past few months still prefer to work overseas instead of just staying in their own country. "Migrating is the only option for them because they can't find jobs here," he said, adding that "we go back to the same problem. They go abroad because it's difficult to look for jobs here." The Philippines is one of the world's biggest labor exporters, with 10 percent of its over 80 million population living abroad. Migration has long been part of the Philippine government's strategy to solve the unemployment problem. This policy started in the 1970s when then Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, faced with huge levels of foreign debt and the oil crisis, sent construction workers to the Middle East. This was done to rein in the rising unemployment levels and avoid growing social unrest. Thirty years later, Filipinos continue to leave in droves -- working as entertainers, domestic helpers, nurses, caregivers, seafarers and programmers. The global crisis may have slowed businesses and even retrenched more than 5,000 Filipino migrant workers but analysts and government officials believed that there will be demand for Philippine labor abroad. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo directed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to aggressively market Filipino labor and expertise abroad. This kind of policy has long been criticized by migrant rights advocates, explaining that migration, although it brought in the much needed remittances, also caused social problems. Numerous migrant workers have been physically and sexually abused and have to endure exploitative working conditions. The separation also breaks family ties and hurt the children who were left behind by their parents. What is needed, they said, is for the government to develop an economy that will provide decent jobs and will make migration a choice, not a necessity, for most of the country's labor force. The current global economic crisis, however, doesn't offer such option. The country's economic managers said one of the factors that will support the consumption-driven economy is the steady inflow of remittances. Labor deployment will therefore remain a key government

policy. "We see a steady labor demand in the Middle East, Australia and elsewhere which are responding to the crisis by embarking on infrastructure projects with their own stimulus packages," Recto said in last week's economic briefing. Analysts said most Filipinos in the United States -- one of the top destination countries for Filipino migrants -- will keep their jobs as they're usually employed in the recession-proof healthcare sectors. Industrialized economies with aging populations will continue to seek cheap, English-proficient and skilled nurses and caregivers from countries like the Philippines. The Philippines is one of the world's biggest exporters of health care workers. Every year, over 8,000 Filipino nurses and 14, 000 caregivers were deployed. Outsourcing industry offers new jobs There are some bright spots in the domestic labor market. The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is expected to remain bullish. BPO revenues are forecasted to grow by 20 percent to 30 percent this year and companies expected to hire 100,000 new workers. "A lot of companies are under a lot of pressure to cut cost so I think it will accelerate outsourcing," said Alfredo Ayala, CEO of LiveIt Solutions, Inc., the holding company for Ayala Corporation's investments in business process outsourcing. Call centers will remain the biggest revenue earner and employer in the BPO sector. But BPO executives believe that the growing demand for the high-value non-voice outsourcing sectors such as animation, software development and back office will offer opportunities to the country's programmers, graphic designers and accountants. "Right now, we're really leading in the contact center sector. But now we're trying to change that. We're trying to expand to the higher value non-voice services," said Ma. Cristina Coronel, president of the Philippine Software Industry Association. Job openings, however, will not necessarily translate into full- time employment. BPOs offer a lot of perks and benefits to its employees but very few are qualified to work in the industry. To solve this problem, BPOs are offering workshops and scholarships to expand its talent pool. Dennis Posadas, deputy executive director of the Philippine

Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering, said that as far as outsourcing in the information technology sector is concerned, very few are qualified to take the jobs because many are not adequately trained. "We still need to improve basic education in our pubic schools. They need to emphasize on science and math education," he said. View previous articles from this author.
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From owner-imap@chumbly.math.missouri.edu Sun Jul 14 10:30:12 2002 Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2002 10:31:18 -0500 (CDT) From: IBON Reach Expansion Department <ibonred@info.com.ph> Subject: [ibon] Poverty Still A Growing Problem in the Philippines Article: 141707 To: undisclosed-recipients:;

Poverty still a growing problem in the Philippines


By Joseph Yu, IBON Features, #43, 5 July 2002
Despite her promise to alleviate the condition of the poor, President Arroyo seems to be losing the battle against poverty Poverty is one of the most serious social problems in the country today. This was highlighted by the results of a recent Pulse Asia survey, which showed that one out of five Filipinos would rather leave the country if only they had the opportunity. Estimates of poverty incidence in the country relesaed by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB) show that 40% of the population, or some 31 million Filipinos, are poor. But IBON Foundation's alternative estimates of poverty incidence show that nearly 88% of the country's households are poor.
Low Wages

Comparing IBON's estimates of the daily cost of living with the daily minimum wage demonstrates that most Filipino families do not earn enough to make ends meet (Table 1). But even comparing government's low daily poverty threshold with the minimum wage reveals that wages are inadequate compared with what a family needs just to survive.

This is because government is dead-set on keeping living standards, and wages, down in order to keep the country competitive and attract foreign investors. Table 1. Minimum Wage vs Daily Cost of Living & Daily Poverty Threshold (in pesos) Region Daily Poverty Threshold Daily Cost of Living /a Minimum Wage /b Philippines 228.76 434.67 209.24 NCR 295.91 530.01 280.00 /c Areas outside NCR 217.63 416.25 168.47 Sources of basic data: NSO, DOLE, NSCB /a - as of April 2002 /b - based on 2000 wage orders /c - including P30 emergency cost of living allowance
Low Purchasing Power

To make things worse for the ordinary Filipino worker, their hard-earned peso can buy fewer goods and services. Table 2 shows that the purchasing power of the peso in the country fell to P0.603 in May from P0.625 last year. Notably, the buying power of the fuel, light and water group fell in May to P0.564 from P0.622 lat year, due to increasing costs of fuel and electricity.
Table 2. Peso Purchasing Power by Region and Commodity Group (as of May 2002; in pesos) 200 200 200 2 1 0 REGION Philippines NCR Outside NCR 0.60 0.62 0.66 3 5 5 0.59 0.62 0.66 0 0 6 0.60 0.62 0.66 8 6 5

COMMODITY GROUP All 0.60 0.62 0.66 items 3 5 5 Food, Beverages & Tobacco Clothing 0.65 0.66 0.69 1 6 1 0.67 0.68 0.71

1 Housing & Repairs Fuel, Light & Water Services Miscellaneous

0.51 0.54 0.57 4 1 7 0.56 0.62 0.70 4 2 0 0.47 0.49 0.57 5 9 0 0.76 0.77 0.83 0 5 3

Source: NSO Although 2001 was marked by a series of oil price rollbacks, oil price hikes this year have brough pump prices back to January 2001 levels. Meanwhile, the National Statistics Office (NSO) April Labor Force Survey revealed that the unemployment rate grew to 13.9% from 13.3% in April last year (See Table 3). The underemployment rate also increased to 19.26% from 17.5% in the same period last year. This means that more Filipinos were not earning enough to meet their needs and thus, are seeking more work, or a second job. Table 3. Labor Force Indicators, April 2002 Preliminary Results Philippines April 2002 January 2002 April 2001 Labor Force (in '000) Participation Rate (%) 35,052 69.9 33,098 66.4 33,621 69.0 Employment (in '000) Rate (%) 30,186

86.1 29,705 89.7 29,160 86.7 Unemployment (in '000) Rate (%) 4,866 13.9 3,393 10.3 4,461 13.3 Underemployment (in '000) Rate (%) 5,922 19.6 4,724 15.9 5,092 17.5 The NSO also reported an increase in own account workers, most of them in the service sector, to 11.4 million from 10.9 million a year earlier. These self-employed workers are considered employed by the government even if they do not engage in productive work. Many of these are forced to fend for themselves due to the lack of economic opportunities in the country. There was also an increase in the number of unpaid family workers, to 4.096 miliion from 4.056 million a year earlier. These are workers who help in the families' business or work, yet are not paid. This increase also points out the lack of employment opportunities, since these workers would probably prefer to look for jobs to better help their families - if only there were jobs available.
Retrenchment

Most people also lost their jobs due to an increase in closures in the first two months of the year. The department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported that some 152 firms closed and 671 reduced their workforce. A total of 20,962 workers were affected, a 79% increase from last year (Table 4). Table 4. Establishments Resorting to Permanent Closures/Retrenchment Due to Economic Reasons and Workers Displaced

More closures should be expected as firms fail to compete with the influx of cheap exports brought about by the government's globalization thrust. No wonder so many Filipinos choose to seek their fortunes abroad. According to the DOLE, some 2,500 Filipinos leave the country dialy to seek employment of migrate elsewhere. FIND OUT MORE IN THE IBON MIDYEAR BIRDTALK: STABILIZATION AND RECOVERY? on July 10, 2002, 1-5pm, at the PSSC Auditorium, PSSC Bldg., Commonwealth Ave., Quezon City, Philippines.
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auses of Unemployment
Published on August 27, 2007 by Prit in Business and Society Comments (51)|21 Liked It

The individual and societal causes of unemployment in the perspectives of Max Weber, Karl Marx and Social interactionist theories. The relevance of these theories to explain the causes of unemployment in the global economy in the mid-century.
In this essay I will discuss how unemployment is an individual and a social problem and how Max Weber distinguished power, authority and coercion and how the functionalist, conflict theorist and symbolic interaction theory view the economy and by the mid century how they have evolved and the role of these theories to explain social and economic phenomenon.
How unemployment is individual and social problem

Unemployment is caused by many factors in a modern market economy. It can be caused by rapid technological change, business cycle or recessions, seasonal factors in some industries particularly such as changes in tastes and climatic conditions which affects demand for certain products and services, individual perceptions and willingness to work and search for jobs, their values and attitudes towards some jobs and about employers, accessibility for retraining and

acquisition of work skills, willingness and perception of unemployed of the benefits of training and the possibility for them to get a job after the training even though they have a chance to get a job, discrimination in the workplace based on race, color. religion, ethnicity, age and class.
Read more in Business and Society Industrial Relation System in Australia and the Factors That Affect It Automated Customer Service in Todays Corporate World

It can be seen from the above causes unemployment in a particular period can be a combination of caused by social factors and how the economy as a whole works and also due to the subjective individual factors. In a sociological point of view according to functionalist and conflict theorists the unemployment is caused primarily by the social factors than by the individual factors. However according to Max Weber and symbolic interaction theories individuals construct their own social constructs and perception and they can be subjective in their behavior and there fore can become unemployed even though the actual condition they can get a job in the job market.

In summary applying the sociological and the primary causes of unemployment unemployment is individual as well as a social problem in a market economy. As discussed above it is caused by the society as well as by individuals. Even the economy or societal factors are not present unemployment can be caused by individual perception and their own subjective behavior.
Max Webers distinction among power, authority and coercion

Power can be defined as one persons ability to influence others does what ever they want even though they dont like to do what is demanded and they resist doing what is demanded. For example a professor can influence the students to assign work and demand them to do to satisfy some criteria. As well a dictator like Hitler can control all aspects of life because of this ability to impose his will on majority of people. In other words a person or group on other person or other

groups can use power legitimately or illegitimately. That is power need not come from proper authority or legitimate authority. That is power and authority can be different in this respect.
http://bizcovering.com/business-and-society/causes-of-unemployment/

Unemployment Rate
Unemployment has been a persistent problem in the Philippines. The unemployment rate steadily increased from 1990 until 2000. After a slight decline in 2001, the rate continued to rise until peaking at 11.7% in 2005. It then dropped to 8.7% in 2006. Currently, the unemployment rate stands at 7.3%. These numbers are much higher than other South East Asian countries, whose rates tend to stay below 6%, barely peaking higher than 8%. What has caused the Philippines to have such a high unemployment rate?

edit Factors
There are many factors contributing to the Philippines high unemployment: Rapid population growth:

The population of the Philippines was 75.3 million in 2000; double what it was 20 years earlier. It is predicted to double at least one more time before it stabilizes. Its population tends to remain much greater than surrounding Asian countries. Mixed with poor economic performance, the high population is problematic; theres too many people and not enough jobs, or money/resources to create more jobs.

Slow economic growth:

While it has a relatively high population, the Philippines GDP is not as large, although it continues to grow. During the 1990s it stayed dramatically low. Compared to other South East Asian countries, its GDP growth was 4-6% lower then theres. With the wealth of the nation being so low, companies have less to spend, making it hard to create new jobs for people. Within the past the years the GDP has been making a climb, however from $98.8 billion in 2005 to $167 billion in 2008; which would explain its recent declining unemployment rate.

Growing labor force:

The Philippines labor force is said to be growing by about 2.8% each year. It nearly doubled from 17.3 million in 1980 to 32.2 million in 2000. Factors contributing to this growth include the rapidly growing population and the increasing number of women entering the workforce. Employment

opportunities have failed to keep up with the growing number of people in the labor force.

Education

Education has only been a focus of government spending within the last 20 years. Many fiscal problems kept educational spending limited in the Philippines until mid-1990s. The Philippines ranks higher in education than most countries with comparable per capita incomes. However, in 2003, only 95% of children were attending primary school, and only were 64% attending secondary school. Those people that arent attending school are typically trying to enter the workforce, adding to the number of unemployed. With less people attending school, or furthering their education, it limits the resources and knowledge available, which then makes it hard to create new, or better jobs.

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2002/wp0223.pdf http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wbwdi&met=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:PHL&dl=en&hl=en&q=philippines+GDP Balisacan, Arsenio M. and Hill, Hal. The Philippine Economy: Development, Policies, and Challenges. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2003. Betcherman, Gordon and Islam, Rizwanul. East Asian Labor Markets and the Economic Crisis. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 2001. Retrieved from "http://internationalbusiness.wikia.com/wiki/Philippines__micro_measures(unemployment)"

Poverty In Philippines
We have many premium term papers and essays on Poverty In Philippines. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
Poverty In Philippines Introduction: This study is about the economic, political and socio- cultural conditions of the Urban Poor. Urban poor has become an interesting topic now days since it is very relevant to modern society. Poverty tends to be the greatest ill that plagues the Filipino as a society. The poor ranges from poor, very poor, and to the very, very poor. The topic URBAN POOR was selected from a group of topics given and then given emphasis by the author according to the relevance of this specific group in today's world. Each condition is specifically analyzed in different aspects and parts to further understand the study. In doing so, one will be able to broaden one's ideas and analysis in certain conditions in relation to the topic about Urban poor. This will also have an analysis of their general condition using a theory application- which

most probably is CONFLICT THEORY, a theory discussed in class with relation to the Sociological Theories presented. This paper was developed as a requirement and further study of the Sociological Theories presented in class and as a meaningful output of all the lectures and discussions that happened during class. Analysis was done by choosing a theoretical orientation from the ones discussed in class. Students and professionals are the intended audiences of this study. This study will hopefully be of help in the development of concrete analysis and plans not just towards the Sociological development of the urban poor, but of the holistic development as well. The informations contained in this study were based on researches provided by related literature and on- line based sources, more of secondary sources. Sources related to the study are referred to the bibliography at the end of the study. Conclusions are from the author of the text, as a product of understanding from the related sources. With all the informations and analysis represented, may this hopefully, a stepping stone in solving problems of today's society.... http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Poverty-Philippines/108928?topic Unemployment All persons of ten years of age and above who worked at least one hour during the reference period [the year] There are three types of unemployment: structural unemployment, frictional unemployment, and cyclical unemployment. In Pakistan, the rate of structural employment is more than others. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had dreamt of exploiting the immense natural resources of the country for the best possible benefit of the people Unemployment is caused by many factors in a modern market economy. It can be caused by rapid technological change, business cycle or recessions, seasonal factors in some industries particularly such as changes in tastes and climatic conditions which affects demand for certain products and services, individual perceptions and willingness to work and search for jobs, their values and attitudes towards some jobs and about employers, accessibility for retraining and acquisition of work skills, willingness and perception of unemployed of the benefits of training and the possibility for them to get a job after the training even though they have a chance to get a job, discrimination in the workplace based on race, color. religion, ethnicity, age and class The political class claims to have the answer, but unemployment is not the result of any one cause. It makes its appearance in a great variety of circumstances, some in personal factors, some in economic changes, and some in legislative and regulatory conditions. Throughout the year some workers may appear in the labor market and then withdraw. Students work during the summer and return to school in September. Building and construction activities, logging and lumbering, slaughtering and meat packing are very seasonal and give rise to a considerable

amount of temporary unemployment. Similarly, industrial and technological changes may force workers to readjust and relocate. Jobs, wages, and working conditions always point the way.

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