DOLE: Renewed demand for Pinoys abroad to boost employment

With many countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas recovering from the global economic crisis, a renewed demand for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) would buoy the country’s employment rate, the Labor department said Thursday. The employment prospects for Filipino workers as global economies fully recover next year will offset job losses from the expected contraction in the manufacturing sector, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said. He said OFW demand will be sustained in traditional markets like the Middle East, Guam, and Hong Kong. Filipino workers may also gain from emerging labor markets such as Canada, Australia, Korea, Macau, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Caribbean Islands, Slovenia, and Croatia. “The prospects for better employment situation both for local and overseas will receive further boost from spending and activities for the national elections in 2010," he was quoted in a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) statement as saying. The DOLE foresees a reduction in exports in the Philippines, but stressed that this would have minimal impact on the overall employment picture. Employment in the manufacturing sector constitutes only 8.3 percent of the total 35.5 million employed persons in the country, based on the July 2009 labor force survey of the National Statistics Office (NSO). “Nonetheless, the DOLE is prepared to assist workers in the manufacturing and other sectors who would be displaced," Roque said. The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in a recently published paper entitled "How has Asia Fared in the Global Crisis? A Tale of Three Countries: Republic of Korea, Philippines, and Thailand" said the country has fared well during the economic crunch. "Unlike Thailand, the global crisis has no significant impact on employment by working status in the Philippines," according to the report. A total of 950,000 jobs were lost in the Philippines between October 2008 and March 2009, the ADB noted. Meanwhile, the DOLE also said the government’s economic resiliency program (ERP), launched early this year, will enable the country to take advantage of improved global economic conditions. “The new resiliency program will prepare the country for the projected global upturn in 2010 by focusing on investments in new industries such as renewable energy, the green industries, information and communications technology, and science, technology and innovation which in turn are expected to generate new jobs for the workers," Roque added. - GMANews.TV