MANILA -- The employment situation improved in May following the easing of stricter quarantine measures implemented in the NCR Plus Bubble area. Month-on-month, the number of employed increased by 3.34% while there was significant decline in the number of underemployed (26.32%), unemployed (9.85%), and those not in the labor force (3.69%). As a result, employment rate rose to nearly 92.3% while underemployment and unemployment eased to 12.28% and 7.70%, respectively.

All major economic sectors contributed to the partial recovery in employment. Agriculture employment modestly increased by 0.63% while those of industry and services rose by 4.29% and 4.2%, respectively.  

DOF View

Early this year, the number of employed recovered to its pre-pandemic level. By February, employment reached more than 43 million, higher than the 42.5 million employed as of January last year. Employment increased further in March to more than 45.3 million. The imposition of stricter quarantine measures in the NCR Plus Bubble area, however, cost the economy more than 2 million jobs lost in April. The easing of restrictions regained more than 1.4 million jobs in May, leaving more than 600,000 jobs yet to be recovered from the March employment level. Nevertheless, it is encouraging that the May underemployment rate of 12.28% has fallen below its pre-pandemic level of 14.81%.

The employment figures are encouraging and we have to make sure that the gains are not eroded. It is imperative, therefore that the health risks posed by the epidemic be managed effectively and efficiently and the transmission of the virus contained, especially as new variants arise. Otherwise, government will be forced to transition from risk management stance to risk avoidance posture and make the difficult and painful decision of imposing much stricter quarantine measures. In this instance, in the process of attempting to stem the spread of the disease, the risk of inadvertently killing the proverbial patient increases.

The arrival of more vaccine shots will provide the economy a big shot in the arm. (DOF)