DOLE watches impact of US credit rating downgrade on OFWs

The Department of Labor and Employment is now monitoring the possible impact on overseas Filipino workers of last weekend’s credit rating downgrade on the United States. “We are closely watching how the credit rating downgrade of the US by Standard & Poor’s will unfold [in the near term]," Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement issued Tuesday. The Labor chief pointed out she does not expect any massive layoff of OFWs despite the economic crisis in the world’s No. 1 economy. Baldoz also noted Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Amado Tetangco Jr. had downplayed the effects of the credit rating downgrade on the Philippines. On the other hand, she said it is too early to tell how the downgrade will affect the employment of Filipinos in the US. The DOLE said the Philippines’ deployment of new hires and rehires to the US stood at only 3,705 OFWs as of the end of 2010. “In 2010, we deployed only 3,705 OFWs to the US compared to 6,248 OFWs in 2009. Most of them were farm and hotel/resort workers holding H2B and H2A visas," she said. — JE, GMA News