Proposed hotline to help unemployed get new jobs

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government is currently planning to establish an employment hotline that will allow the unemployed to look for new jobs both here and abroad. This was announced a week or so after the government announced that more than 15,000 jobs in the electronics and garments sectors have been lost over the past two months as the crisis cuts demand for goods and services. Besides helping unemployed individuals gain technical and entrepreneurial skills training, the hotline will also help prospective small businessmen to secure loans from banks, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said. Agencies such as the Neda, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of Trade and Industry are currently working on the project, Neda director Ralph G. Recto said. The hotline will be “for the guidance of people," Recto told reporters, adding that the service will also allow the government to know the exact number of unemployed Filipinos in the country. Earlier, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said that up to 60,000 workers in information technology industry may lose their jobs this year. - GMANews.TV