Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has underscored that the quality of jobs in the Philippines has continued to improve as more Filipinos are engaged in formal and stable work—representing the largest portion of the employed workforce in the country, according to the latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) results.

The LFS showed that the country recorded a total number of 45.9 million employed individuals in January 2024, the majority of which (30.8 million or 67.1%) were wage and salary workers mostly coming from private establishments.

This improvement in the quality of jobs is also reflected in the decline of the underemployment rate, which dropped to 13.9% in January 2024 compared to 14.1% in the same month last year.

“Wage and salary workers enjoy more stable employment conditions, including perks such as health insurance and social welfare benefits. The fact that they are continuously increasing and accounting for the largest share of employed persons in the country indicates that the majority of our workforce is engaged in formal jobs,” the Finance Chief said.

More than half of the total employment in January 2024 was provided by services (60.2%) followed by agriculture (21.4%) and industry (18.4%).

Meanwhile, the top sub-sectors that recorded annual increases in the number of employed persons in January 2024 were construction; transportation and storage; administrative and support service activities; and fishing and aquaculture.

Overall, the employment rate rose to 95.5% in January from 95.2% in the same month in 2023.

This brought the unemployment rate to drop to 4.5% from 4.8% in the same month of the previous year, indicating sustained improvement in the labor market as more Filipinos are being hired.

While the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR), or the estimate of an economy’s active workforce, slightly dropped to 61.1% in January 2024 compared to 64.5% in January 2023, this could be attributed to a decrease in youth LFPR due to return to schooling.

Strategies to boost the quantity and quality of employment

The Department of Finance (DOF) has the Growth-Enhancing Actions and Resolutions or GEARs plan in place to ensure that the country is on track to achieve a growth-enhancing fiscal consolidation, which will in turn foster an environment that is conducive to employment-generating investments.

Under this plan, the DOF will act fast on investments through the swift implementation of pro-business reforms, improvements in the regulatory regime, reduction in the cost of doing business, and addressing constraints.

These include pushing forward the amendments to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act to further address investor concerns, tailor-fit incentives, and attract more strategic investments into the country.

“The ease of doing business is what builds investment-led growth that creates more quality jobs in a land whose talents far outstrip opportunities that could harness them,” Secretary Recto said.

With its high multiplier effect on the economy, the government will also vigorously implement the President’s Build Better More program to generate more employment and investments. The government targets an annual infrastructure spending of 5% to 6% of GDP.

The government will leverage private sector capital and expertise through the recently enacted Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code to cut the infrastructure backlog, free up fiscal space for social services, and generate jobs that boost domestic consumption.

Meanwhile, the Finance Chief aims to achieve its revenue collection targets by further enhancing tax administration efficiency to provide more funds for education, upskilling and worker training, health care, and other human capital development programs that will improve the preparedness of Filipinos for quality job opportunities.

“Our greatest asset is our people. This is something even countries worldwide recognize. Thus, we will prioritize empowering them further by investing heavily in human capital development to prime and prepare them for the best and the brightest opportunities ahead,” Secretary Recto said.