Philippines: Factors Causing Unemployment
Philippines: Factors Causing Unemployment
Even with a booming economy, there are still some countries experiencing the imminent problem of unemployment. This paper analyzes the major factors affecting the high unemployment rate in the Philippines. The country has showed some positive progress on their economy; however, its unemployment rate still ranks highest among its neighboring Southeast Asian countries. Unemployment affects so many aspects of the economy, so knowing the root causes of unemployment will help the country’s government to act quickly in response to fluctuations in unemployment may be able to blunt the effects of an economic downturn or maximize the positives of an improving economy.
GDP GROWTH AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Philippines met its government projections of 6%-7% growth range; the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth increased to 6.6% in 2012 compared to 3.9% in 2011 (Central Intelligence Agency, 2013). Despite the Philippines’ economy doing well of late in growing its GDP, the country still faces enormous challenges in generating more jobs and quality employment for its people. Based on the July 2012 Labor Force Survey (LFS), the unemployment rate in the country is 7% (National Statistics Office, 2013). The unemployment figures for the Philippines in 2012 are among the worst in Asia, higher than its South-East Asian neighbors according to the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) of the country (Nepomuceno-Rodriguez, 2012). The disparity between the high GDP growth and the unemployment rate attributed the result to the relatively slower economic growth of the country. Most of the unemployed in the Philippines by educational attainment: 21.7% were college graduates, 13.6 percent were college undergraduates, and 32.8 percent were high school graduates (National Statistics Office, 2013). By understanding what are factors affecting unemployment, it can give the country’s government an overview on how respond on this
Even with a booming economy, there are still some countries experiencing the imminent problem of unemployment. This paper analyzes the major factors affecting the high unemployment rate in the Philippines. The country has showed some positive progress on their economy; however, its unemployment rate still ranks highest among its neighboring Southeast Asian countries. Unemployment affects so many aspects of the economy, so knowing the root causes of unemployment will help the country’s government to act quickly in response to fluctuations in unemployment may be able to blunt the effects of an economic downturn or maximize the positives of an improving economy.
GDP GROWTH AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Philippines met its government projections of 6%-7% growth range; the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth increased to 6.6% in 2012 compared to 3.9% in 2011 (Central Intelligence Agency, 2013). Despite the Philippines’ economy doing well of late in growing its GDP, the country still faces enormous challenges in generating more jobs and quality employment for its people. Based on the July 2012 Labor Force Survey (LFS), the unemployment rate in the country is 7% (National Statistics Office, 2013). The unemployment figures for the Philippines in 2012 are among the worst in Asia, higher than its South-East Asian neighbors according to the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) of the country (Nepomuceno-Rodriguez, 2012). The disparity between the high GDP growth and the unemployment rate attributed the result to the relatively slower economic growth of the country. Most of the unemployed in the Philippines by educational attainment: 21.7% were college graduates, 13.6 percent were college undergraduates, and 32.8 percent were high school graduates (National Statistics Office, 2013). By understanding what are factors affecting unemployment, it can give the country’s government an overview on how respond on this