The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released last Wednesday, 08 May 2024, its latest Labor Force Survey showing a rise of unemployment where two million Filipinos are reportedly out of work, as of March 2024, or an increase of 200,000 individuals without a job in February 2024.
The latest PSA data indicating agriculture and forestry industry getting the highest job losses, which fell by 318,000, are not surprising.
The country started to feel the impact of the El Nino phenomenon in the first quarter of the year resulting in lower farm output and increased joblessness.
In fact, the state-run Philippine News Agency mentioned on March 12, 2024, that the El Nino phenomenon has caused over PhP1.23 billion in agricultural damage across the country.
Research group IBON Foundation, meanwhile, estimated that for the past three consecutive months of 2024, the number of employed persons in agriculture has significantly dropped year-on-year by 697,000 in January, by 1.32 million in February, and by 1.33 million to 10.1 million in March 2024 from 11.4 million in March 2023.
As a response, the current administration, through its Task Force El Nino which President Ferdinand R. Macros, Jr. reconstituted with the signing of Executive Order No. 53, put in place what government officials described as “results-driven interventions” to mitigate the effects of a prolonged dry spell.
We just hope that, with these mitigating measures, agriculture and forestry would fare better considering the said sector’s share to total employment stands at 20.5% in March 2024, according to PSA.
Let us wait for the succeeding government surveys to reflect these.
Indeed, poverty, hunger, and jobs are harsh realities faced by millions of Filipinos.
It is high time for our present crop of leaders to buckle down to work, set aside destructive politics, and ensure genuine improvements should be felt on the ground to realize the aspiration of a new Philippines.
