Employment rebound may take 2 years

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The country may not flatten the curve of unemployment soon.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III yesterday said it will take two to three years for the employment situation in the Philippines to rebound after registering a record high jobless rate in April.

“We cannot expect a rebound in just six months,” Bello told a webinar that polled attendees of the prospects on the job market within the next six months.

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Bello noted the need to reskill and upskill Filipinos to be able to handle technolog- based jobs which is seen as the game changer for the rebound.

Bello is pining hopes on government’s Build Build program which is expected to create 2 to 3 million jobs.

Bello said the Department of Labor and Employment’s Job Displacement Report showed 79,647 Filipinos permanently lost their jobs following the closure of some 2,611 businesses.

Hardest hit are jobs in administrative and support services and manufacturing.

“The numbers are growing,” said Bello who projects job losses could hit 5 to 10 million due to the new coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

The April Labor Force Survey showed unemployment rate surged to 17.7 percent in April, an additional 5 million jobless Filipinos due to the pandemic. This brought the number of unemployed to7.3 million.

On the upside, the DOLE sees health-related and agribusiness jobs to remain in great demand amid the pandemic while business process outsourcing is seen to drive hiring.

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