DOF Expects That Strong Labor Market Will Fuel Spending

The Department of Finance (DOF) has a positive outlook on the domestic labor market possibly fueling consumer spending thereby supporting economic recovery from the pandemic.

DOF Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno released a statement saying that the most recent Labor Force Survey (LFS) shows the highest employment rate since the start of the pandemic.

According to Diokno, the high employment numbers show the continuous economic recovery after the layoffs and economic losses from the pandemic.

“We expect that the strong labor market will continue to fuel domestic demand and support the country’s economic growth,”  says Sec Diokno.

“The jobs market is seeing continued positive developments as economic activity normalizes,” he adds.

From the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)’s LFS results, 47.6 million Filipinos were employed in September, which is a 9.2% growth compared to the same period last year of 43.6 million.

From the 76.83 million Filipinos that are 15 years old and over, the PSA noted a labor force participation rate (LFPR) of 65.2% or 50.08 million. This would mean that a bigger number of the population is going back to the labor force.

“The quality of employment is also improving. The employment growth was mainly contributed by wage and salary workers, particularly in private establishments,”  says Diokno.

The forestry, agriculture, wholesale and retail trade, and manufacturing sectors noted the largest increase in employment.

Sec Diokno mentions that the government remains committed to investing in human capital development.

“We have a large pool of young, highly-skilled, and tech-savvy workers that is ready to compete with the global workforce,” he says.

Source: Manila Bulletin