The jobs problem in the Philippines has to be confronted head-on by looking at the underlying causes such as instituting new approaches to labor laws, according to the Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
PIDS research has found that decades-old labor regulations have been ineffective, indicating that new approaches are needed.
A study titled "Labor Policy Analysis for Jobs Expansion and Development,” by Drs. Aniceto Orbeta, Vicente Paqueo, and Leonardo Lanzona, found that the overall impact of the minimum wage is negative. It is disadvantageous particularly to smaller firms that dominate the economy. Moreover, it reduces the employability of young, female, and inexperienced workers, and lowers the proportion of working-age family members who will be hired.
The study proposes a 12-point agenda, referred to as the Jobs Expansion and Development Initiative (JEDI). It would be better to use direct and temporary income subsidy, carefully targeted toward extremely poor households, to meet suitable norms that society considers as public good.
Other measures are better education, increased labor-intensive manufacturing, and greater opportunities for training on the job.
The study said despite the rapid economic growth averaging 5.1 percent from 2008 to 2013 and a remarkable rate of 7.2 percent last year, income inequality and poverty incidence have remained high and stable in the last two decades. It is widely believed that this failure to attain greater inclusiveness is due to widespread joblessness and underemployment because of the country’s inability to rapidly expand quality job opportunities. Philippine growth has often been criticized as "jobless growth”.
According to another study, transforming and upgrading the manufacturing industry is crucial to achieve inclusive growth, create quality jobs, increase incomes, and reduce poverty.
"The Philippine Manufacturing Industry Roadmap: Agenda for New Industrial Policy, High Productivity Jobs, and Inclusive Growth,” by Dr. Rafaelita Aldaba, PIDS senior research fellow on secondment to the Trade department as assistant secretary underscores the importance of implementing a new industrial policy that would take advantage of market opportunities and face the challenges of the AEC.
A paper titled "Regional Integration, Inclusive Growth, and Poverty: Enhancing Employment Opportunities for the Poor,” written by Senior Research Fellow Dr. Celia Reyes as lead author explains that the manufacturing sector can provide employment opportunities for the poor and can offer relatively higher wages.
To promote inclusive growth and reduce poverty, the manufacturing sector has to be made more competitive. At the same time, productivity in the agriculture sector, which is the major employer of the poor, should increase.//
