NATIONAL JOB RECOVERY PROGRAM SET

With a record-high unemployment rate of 17.7 percent at the height of the pandemic, the government has come up with a recovery plan aimed at bringing back jobs in the labor market.

Heading the program is The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) which will chair the newly formed Inter-Agency Task Force on the National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS).

“The objective of this employment strategy is to enhance the effectiveness of each of the policies and programs, and to more efficiently achieve the strategic national objectives,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said at the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) virtual signing of NERS Task Force.

Lopez said the new task force aims to restart economic activities, restore business confidence, upgrade and retool the workforce, and facilitate access to labor markets.

“Vital wide-ranging and integrated policy measures are needed. These should focus on: stimulating the economy and jobs; supporting enterprises, employment and incomes; and protecting workers in the workplace, including occupational safety and health,” he added.

The NERS task force seeks to address the loss of jobs that at the height of the community quarantine measures, led to an unemployment rate of a record-high of 17.7 percent.

Unemployment rate eased to 10 percent in July 2020 and to 8.7 percent in October 2020 but which is far from the 5-percent unemployment rate before the pandemic, the DTI chief said.

Job losses were severe in sectors of arts, entertainment, and recreation, IN which current activities are still limited, as well as tourism-related sector of accommodation and food services.

Arts, entertainment, and recreation jobs declined by 38.2 percent, while employment in accommodation and food services dropped by 33.2 percent.

“While the impact of COVID-19 on the country’s economy and labor market has been devastating, we are already seeing signs of our economic recovery,” said Lopez.

The trade chief said the role of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is vital in bringing back jobs. He added the DTI have several programs that support entrepreneurship in the country. MSMEs accounted for 99 percent of jobs in the country.

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