World Bank Group (WBG) Managing Director of Operations Anna Bjerde has commended the Philippines for its progress in job creation and poverty reduction, noting that the country stands out as one of the few nations achieving both strong economic growth and significant improvements in uplifting people’s lives.

During a meeting on October 22, 2024, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto highlighted the Philippines’ rapid economic growth and vibrant labor force, with the unemployment rate continuing to drop to 4% as of August 2024.

This translates to 49.2 million Filipinos employed to date, with 62.4% of them in formal and stable jobs.

Moreover, he shared that the government has effectively reduced the poverty incidence to 15.5% in 2023, bringing the Philippines on track to achieve a single-digit poverty incidence of 9% by the end of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s term in 2028.

Managing Director Bjerde emphasized that the Bank’s recently launched High-Level Advisory Council on Jobs will certainly benefit the Philippines in improving further its jobs market.

This is a new initiative that will identify actionable policies and programs to address challenges in job creation, focusing on youth and female employment opportunities.

Leading experts across government, business, civil society, and academia will be brought together to offer thought leadership and actionable strategies for creating large-scale employment opportunities.

In line with this, the Finance Chief sought the Bank’s assistance in drawing in more private-sector investments into the country to attract capital-intensive investments and create jobs in higher value-added sectors.

Apart from this, Managing Director Bjerde also commended the Philippines for its efforts to enhance gender inclusion in finance, social protection programs, and digitalization.

She also recognized the Philippines’ leadership in crisis and disaster response, being the first to sign the Rapid Response Option (RRO) agreement with the WBG—a model that has since been followed by 25 other nations.

Managing Director Bjerde assured the Secretary that the Marcos, Jr. administration’s key priorities will be aligned and reflected in the new country partnership framework that the WBG is crafting for the Philippines for 2025 to 2028.

In an earlier meeting with other WBG senior officials, the Bank expressed its commitment to supporting the Philippines’ agriculture sector, infrastructure, energy, human capital development, digitalization initiatives, and efforts to attract more private investments.

To improve the delivery of WBG-funded projects, Secretary Recto requested the Bank to provide grants and technical assistance to implementing agencies for project preparation.

He also reiterated his call for the WBG to provide more concessional financing, to which the Bank responded positively by citing reforms recently approved by the WBG Board such as the introduction of grace periods in paying commitment fees and removal of prepayment premium, among others.

The Bank also mentioned that another package of pricing reform is under discussion to further lower borrowing costs.

Joining Secretary Recto during the meeting with Managing Bjerde Director were Undersecretary Domini S. Velasquez; National Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza; WBG Alternate Executive Director Erwin Sta. Ana; and OIC Assistant Secretary Donalyn U. Minimo.

Other WBG officials present were Vice President for Operations Policy and Country Services Ed Mountfield; Regional Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific Manuela Ferro; and Country Director for the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei Zafer Mustafaoğlu.