1M jobs created in 2014, but quality of jobs below par

MANILA, Philippines—Amid sustained economic growth, over a million jobs were created in the country last year, although the quality of new employment remained below par as mostly temporary positions were made available, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In its Labstat Updates report released on Friday, the PSA noted that the preliminary 2014 employment data it generated showed “mixed results.”

“On the positive note, the employment level grew by 2.8 percent compared to a year ago—a net gain or employment generation that exceeded one million,” the PSA said.

The number of employed Filipinos rose to 37.3 million in 2014 from 36.3 million in 2013, preliminary PSA data showed.

Last year, 962,000 people joined the workforce, bringing the total to 40.1 million or two-thirds of the population, data showed. Hence, the number of new jobs which reached at least one million slightly outpaced the number of new entrants to the labor force, it noted.

In 2014, jobs in the industry sector, which includes construction and manufacturing, grew 4.1 percent; 3.1-percent growth was posted in services; and 1.7 percent in agriculture, a recovery from the slump in 2013, as the country was stricken by “less destructive” typhoons last year.

Also, “both the rates of unemployment and underemployment eased slightly” in 2014 compared with the previous year, according to the PSA. The underemployment rate marginally improved to 18.4 percent in 2014 from 19 percent in 2013, while the unemployment rate slid to 6.8 percent last year—the lowest since 2006, PSA data showed.

However, the PSA pointed out that “[a]mid the expansion, the quality of employment remained a key challenge,” as mostly “vulnerable” jobs increased.

“Employment growth [in 2014] was largely driven by the rise in part-time employment (9.1 percent) alongside the increase in the number of self-employed persons and unpaid family workers,” the PSA noted.

Over 1.1-million Filipinos were employed only part-time in 2014, data showed.

As such, the average hours of work went down 2.4 percent last year, which the PSA said reflected the “slowdown” in the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014.

Last Thursday, the National Economic and Development Authority reported that the GDP grew by 6.1 percent last year, slower than the 7.2 percent posted in 2013.

The 2014 GDP growth was below the government’s target of 6.5-7.5 percent.