Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has expressed optimism on achieving the Marcos, Jr. administration’s ultimate goal of reducing the poverty rate to a single-digit or 9% by 2028, as the Philippines posted its highest-ever employment and historic low unemployment rates in June 2024.

“These figures prove that our efforts are paying off, and that we are on track to lift 10 million more Filipinos out of the poverty line by the end of the President’s term. If we continue this momentum and ramp up investments to create more quality jobs for our people, we might even get there sooner than expected,” he said.

The Labor Force Survey (LFS) result for June 2024 showed the country posting its highest employment rate of 96.9%, equivalent to 50.3 million employed persons.

This led to the significant drop in the country’s unemployment rate to only 3.1% in June 2024, its lowest level to date.

This translates to 707,000 fewer unemployed individuals on a year-on-year basis during the said month. Total unemployed persons in the country are recorded at only 1.6 million to date.

Of the total employed individuals, wage and salary workers continue to account for the largest share at 63.8% or 32.1 million, indicating a growing and stronger middle class.

Among wage and salary workers, 80.5% (or 25.8 million) are employed in private establishments, while 12.5% (or 4.0 million) are in the public sector.

The services sector continues to provide the most jobs for the month, accounting for 58.7% (29.5 million) of the employed population. This was followed by agriculture (21.1% or 10.6 million) and industry (20.2% or 10.1 million) sectors.

“With an all-time high gross national income per capita and very robust labor market, favorable factors are in place for us to become an upper-middle income country by 2025. Sisiguraduhin ng administrasyong ito na makakarating tayo doon at lahat ng Pilipino ay mabibigyan ng kalidad na trabaho at buhay na nararapat sa kanila,” Secretary Recto said.

According to the Finance Chief, the proposed national budget of PHP 6.35 trillion in 2025 is the government’s biggest tool to drive investments that will create more quality jobs for Filipinos, increase their incomes, reduce poverty incidence, and grow the economy at an even faster rate.

The national budget is equivalent to 22.1% of the country’s 2025 projected GDP and is higher by 10.1% than the 2024 national budget of PHP 5.77 trillion.

More than half of the 2025 national budget, or about 62.6%, will be allocated for both social and economic services, such as infrastructure, health, education, human capital development, social welfare, employment, housing, and other social protection programs.

“We, at the DOF, will ensure that every peso to be collected or borrowed to fund our gargantuan budget, will be stretched to deliver the biggest bang per buck for the Filipino people,” the Finance chief said.

“The national budget will deliver high-quality education to our people while equally prioritizing social protection, food security, and massive infrastructure projects to make sure that Filipino workers are not just smart, but are healthy, thriving, and globally competitive,” he said.

To prepare the next generation of workers for a future driven by artificial intelligence (AI), the government is working on bridging the digital divide from Luzon to Mindanao through the Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project and the National Broadband Program.

Recently, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) established Industry 4.0 facilities to foster a collaborative learning environment where large enterprises, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and the academe can share knowledge on industry 4.0 management and advanced production technologies.

Further, the government is also implementing the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy Roadmap 2.0, which aims to strengthen the country’s capacity for sustainable digital transformation, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the digital economy.

In line with this, the DOF is utilizing fiscal policy as a tool to promote a regime that rewards AI, innovation, and the creation of new knowledge through the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Bill that helps bring in more investments for human capital development.

“Rest assured, the government is all hands on deck to employ whole-of-government strategies in nurturing a new generation of Bagong Pilipino that is ready to take on the new economy,” Secretary Recto said.