1.7 million Filipinos to lose jobs this year - Recto

MANILA, Philippines - Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto on Monday said around 1.7 million Filipinos are likely to lose their jobs this year but only 500,000 jobs are expected to be created. Recto, in a press briefing at Malacanang, said “roughly 800,000 are vulnerable to the global crisis," including workers in export-oriented industries particularly semiconductors, wire harnessing, electronics, and overseas workers in export-oriented economies. He said around 900,000 Filipinos will look for jobs this year, both graduates and non-graduates. “Chances are you can probably create 500,000 jobs, so there's a deficiency," he added. However, he said the job creation rate of 530,000-560,000 last year should be considered a consolation because America lost three million jobs and China lost more than 10 million. He said Europe is losing jobs and that rallies are happening in France due to unemployment. “We are catching up with our neighbors because we're the second best growing in the region, (although) I'm not saying we're happy that they're falling," he said. Recto said it would be “tough" to create the target of one million jobs this year, assuming that the economy grows by 4.6 percent, like it did last year. He said majority of the 900,000 Filipinos who will look for jobs this year would be aged 15-21, who should be in school where they will be trained and equipped with more skills in preparation for the global rebound. He said the strategy against job loss is still “training, retraining, and shifting work hours. Let that process continue." - GMANews.TV