Unemployment

SRN-1268: Youth Unemployment

RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE APPROPRIATE SENATE COMMITTEES TO CONDUCT AN INQUIRY, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, ON THE INCREASE OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE NEED TO CREATE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND FORMULATE PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF YOUNG FILIPINOS, INCLUDING THE UNEMPLOYED YOUTH, WORKERS IN VULNERABLE EMPLOYMENT AND YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

Whereas, the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the State shall afford full protection to labor, local and overseas, organized and unorganized, and promote full employment and equality of employment opportunities for all. The State also recognizes the role of the youth in nation building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being;

Whereas, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the National Statistics Office (NSO), the unemployment rate increased to 6.6 percent in January 2015, from 6 percent as reported in October 2014. The employment rate is estimated at 93.4 percent in January 2015, up from 92.5 percent last 2014. There were 37.4 million employed people: 54.6 percent worked in the services sector, 29.5 in agriculture and 15.9 percent in industry sector;

Whereas, the age bracket from 15 to 24 years old accounted for 49.1 percent of . total unemployed, while the age group 25 to 34 accounted for 31.6 percent. This is estimated at around 8.5 million youth unemployed, a slight increase from last year, which is 8.2 million. By educational attainment, 20.4 percent were college graduates, 13.0 percent were college undergraduates, and 34.4 percent were high school graduates. Underemployment has marginally decreased this year, a decrease of 42,000 underemployed Filipinos this year, but that is still 6.9 million Filipinos underemployed;

Whereas, based on the data by the PSA, the quality and type of employment also remains a challenge. Employment growth is greatly attributed to the increased number of part time employment, alongside the increase in self-employment (407,000 new selfemployed workers) and unpaid family workers (292,000). Together, they contributed to 68.3% of those employed. However, this type of employment is considered vulnerable and thus, marginally contributory to the overall growth of the economy;

Whereas, quite a number of policy initiatives had been introduced to address youth unemployment problems including provision of labor market information, skills training and upgrading, online job-matching and improving entrepreneurship skills. Through the years, there has been mismatch between the available jobs and available skills in the labor force, which is considered as one of the main reasons for youth unemployment. There are employment opportunities but the young people are not fully equipped to handle the jobs available;

Whereas, there is a need to address the lack of capacity, coordination and collaboration among the relevant government offices and institutions such as the Department of Labor, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the National Economic Authority, among others. In order to strategically and significantly promote job generation for young Filipinos and propose interventions on economic policies, there should be a coordinated policy framework to address the challenges of youth unemployment;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, as it is hereby resolved to direct the appropriate Senate committees to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the increase of youth unemployment and the need to create employment opportunities and formulate programs to address the needs of young Filipinos, including the unemployed youth, workers in vulnerable employment, and young entrepreneurs.
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Bam: Immediately Address Youth Unemployment

A lawmaker urges the government to address the growing number of unemployed Filipino youth, which is currently estimated at 1.32 million.

 

According to the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) and National Statistics Office (NSO), the current national rate of unemployed Filipinos is at 6.6% or at 2.7 million as of January 2015, up from 6.0% as reported in October 2014.

 

From the 6.6%, 49.1 percent of the unemployed Filipinos belong to the age bracket of 15 to 24 years old or 1.32 million.

 

“Nakakaalarma na mas maraming kabataan ngayon ang walang trabaho,” said Sen. Bam, chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth.

 

To help address this problem, Sen. Bam has filed Senate Resolution No. 1268 seeking to encourage concerned government agencies to create employment opportunities for the youth.

 

“1.32 milyong kabataan ang hindi nakakatulong sa kanilang mga pamilya at sa ating bansa,” added Sen. Bam.

 

Also, the resolution also urges government agencies to formulate programs to address the needs of young Filipinos, including the unemployed youth, workers in vulnerable employment and young entrepreneurs.

 

Sen. Bam sees the need for relevant government agencies such as the Department of Labor, Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the National Economic Development Authority to collaborate and coordinate more to address the problem.

 

“In order to strategically and significantly promote job generation for young Filipinos and propose interventions on economic policies, there should be a coordinated policy framework to address the challenges of youth unemployment,” said Sen. Bam.

 

Sen. Bam encouraged the government to prioritize programs that will enhance labor market information, skills training and upgrading, online job matching and entrepreneurial skills.

 

“Through the years, there has been a mismatch between the available jobs and available skills in the labor force, which is considered as one of the main reasons for youth unemployment,” said Sen. Bam.

 

“Kailangang mabigyan ng pagkakataong magkatrabaho o magkanegosyo, at lumago ang ating kabataan sa nararanasang pag-unlad ng ating bansa,” Sen. Bam emphasized.

Youth Entrepreneurship to Address Youth Unemployment

With the graduation season fast approaching, excitement builds up as students prepare themselves for the next phase of their young lives – the professional life.

 

After graduation, they will be scouring newspaper advertisements, join job fairs, sign up on online job websites, visit companies and inquire about possible employment vacancies.

 

A number of these graduates will find jobs in the Philippines; a number will find jobs abroad. Some will work in a formal company; others will be working more informally.  And unfortunately, some will join the ranks of the unemployed.

 

For the Filipino youth, especially those in the last unfortunate set, they have to have better choices. What if rather than just working as an employee, you could become your own boss and run your own enterprise?

 

In the Senate, I have the Youth Entrepreneurship Bill, which aims to expose our Filipino youth to entrepreneurship at a young age and give them a good foundation for business creation in the future.

 

If enacted into law, course programs in entrepreneurship will be developed for primary, secondary and post-secondary schools to give them knowledge how to start and run their own businesses.

 

Moreover, the bill aims to create a fund and support structures to aid starting entrepreneurs in their product development, access to capital, training and other services, to help them establish their own enterprises.

 

The Youth Entrepreneurship Bill was passed on third reading in the Senate and was passed on second reading in the House of Congress recently.

 

I hope that this bill will be enacted into law soon to assist our fresh graduates and young Filipinos.

 

This bill hopes to also address the growing unemployment rate in the country.

The government’s push for inclusive growth will not take off unless the problems of youth unemployment and underemployment are not immediately addressed.

 

The challenge is make our current economic growth felt by every Filipino through generation of jobs and creation of livelihood. And youth entrepreneurship is one of the keys for our Filipino youth to experience this growth for themselves and for their families.

 

First Published On: Youth Enterprising Blog

 

 

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