Sonny Africa, executive director of the think tank Ibon Foundation, suggests that job quality in the Philippines may be decreasing even as the government reported a dip in the unemployment rate in December 2023. (File photo from the Associated Press)
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Unemployment in the country decreased in December 2023, but concerns about job quality declining cannot be ignored, a socio-economic expert suggested on Thursday.
The reason?
Filipinos who secured work at the tail end of last year also rated themselves as 鈥減oor鈥� 鈥� a phenomenon that is 鈥渁larming,鈥� according to Sonny Africa, executive director of the think tank Ibon Foundation.
Africa said such a situation could only indicate that the quality of jobs in the country is diminishing.
In an interview with 黑料社, Africa pointed out: 鈥淚f you only read the labor force figures [鈥 that鈥檚 really the lowest in decades. But for us, what鈥檚 more important is whether the low unemployment rate translates to income.鈥�
On Wednesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the country鈥檚 unemployment rate slipped to 3.1 percent in December of last year, translating to about 1.6 million Filipinos who were either jobless or out of business 鈥� a new record low since the unemployment rate stooped to 3.6 percent in November 2023.
READ: 47 percent of Filipino families felt poor in Q4 2023 鈥� SWS survey
In January, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released a survey showing that around 13 million Filipino families said they felt 鈥減oor鈥� during the fourth quarter of 2023.
From Africa鈥檚 perspective, these statistics tell a clear story: Filipinos indeed have jobs, but their earnings are not enough to provide for their most basic necessities.
Also, in January, the SWS said that the involuntary hunger rate in the country rose from 9.8 percent in September to 12.6 percent in December 2023.
鈥淭he labor force survey says is that jobs are increasing, but if families can鈥檛 keep up, there鈥檚 only one meaning to that: the quality of jobs is declining,鈥� Africa said.
鈥淛obs may no longer be sufficient to provide livelihood for families,鈥� he warned.
More jobs, no savings
Another government survey revealed that the number of Filipino households with savings is decreasing 鈥� even if more Filipinos have jobs.
According to the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas鈥� (BSP) Consumer Expectations Survey for the fourth quarter of 2023, the percentage of households with savings declined to 29.1 percent from 32.8 percent in the third quarter of the same year.
The BSP survey noted that this phenomenon was observed across all income groups.
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The same survey indicated that Filipino family income decreased by 4.1 percent in the last three months of the previous year.
In December 2023, the PSA reported that inflation eased to 3.9 percent.
鈥淚n the labor force survey, it doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e irregular, if your income is low, if you鈥檙e informal, those are still jobs. They are still counted. It appears that this is what鈥檚 happening,鈥� Africa explained.
鈥淟et鈥檚 not use this survey [labor force] to say that Filipinos鈥� lives are improving,鈥� he added.
Africa pointed out that they believe in the integrity of the country鈥檚 statistical system but urged the public not to look at one number alone since numbers rarely speak for themselves.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not discounting the veracity of statistical reports, but what the data is showing us compared with other findings is that jobs are not enough for Filipinos to earn a living,鈥� he said.