Too early to celebrate 95.8% employment rate, says lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines – While commending the government as the Philippines’ employment rate reached its highest in 18 years, it is still too early for a victory lap, saying the current administration has more challenges ahead.

Bulacan 6th District Rep. Salvador Pleyto stressed the need for the government to continue focusing on job generation for both the incoming workforce and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“The news (of the 95.8% employment rate) may come as a delight, but we in the government are not done with our sworn duty. We need to create more jobs not just for those who currently need them, but also for those who are about to enter the workforce,” Pleyto said in a statement Thursday.

“There should be jobs waiting for new graduates from our schools and those OFWs who want to offer the skills they’ve acquired for our own country,” he added.

The lawmaker made the statement following the release of the October 2023 Labor Force Survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) saying the Philippines’ employment rate soared to 95.8%, even as he lauded Malacanang for being the driving force toward a stronger economy.

He also highlighted the country’s “record-breaking” unemployment rate, which fell to only 4.2%, stressing that out of all economic indicators, job figures were the “most important.”

“Who wouldn’t be delighted with the 95.8% employment rate reported for October, which is the highest in 18 years? It surpassed the previous high recorded in April 2005,” said Pleyto, a member of the House Agriculture and Food Committee.

“Of all economic indicators, job figures is the most important. It’s because economic growth will only be meaningful if the number of jobs are increasing as well,” he continued.

Pleyto, who was also member of the House Overseas Workers Affairs Committee, said the higher employment rate would encourage OFWs to return home and seek opportunities in their own land. 

The lawmaker from Bulacan said that the administration must always ensure that job creation must be front and center of its socioeconomic agenda to encourage the culture of “sipag at talino” among Filipino workers.

“Ito ang pangunahing misyon ng pamahalaan, ang palaguin ang