More Filipinos become their own bosses as pandemic destroys jobs

Millions of Filipinos have become their own bosses at business ventures when some jobs returned in July, reducing unemployment to 10 percent as lockdowns eased.

Sheila de Asis, 38, owned a video production company, but all her projects were put on hold at the height of the region’s longest and strictest COVID-19 lockdown as the Philippines tried to contain the amount infections since mid-March. .

While staying at home, De Asis had ventured into running an online marketplace offering food and household products, handing them out to friends and customers who had also been stuck at home during the quarantine.

De Asis’s cousin, Joanne Osorio, 43, had a worse time: Her spa had to close during closure as the huge rent turned into losses, shortening what could have been a 10-year career.

With three children and his savings at risk of running out, Osorio turned a hobby (cooking) into his new business, this time selling chicken empanadas.

Since the pastry shop he gave to neighbors on Father’s Day was a success, Osorio sold more empanadas in his town.

“Our profits from the food business increase our food budget, while the rest of our expenses we get from our savings,” said Osorio.

National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Map told the Inquirer on Thursday (September 3) that the number of self-employed Filipinos without any paid employees rose to 12.1 million in July from 11.5 million a year ago.

The impact of the COVID-19 closures was also felt by the self-employed, as their number dropped to 9.7 million in April, when restrictions on the movement of people and goods were strict.

Mapa said most of the freelancers last July, numbering 4.5 million, were engaged in wholesale and retail trade.

The July 2020 round of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Quarterly Labor Force Survey (LFS) showed an unemployment rate lower than the 15-year high of 17.7 percent recorded in April.

But Mapa told a news conference that the unemployment rate was the highest in all July rounds of the survey since 2005, when the government adopted the current metrics it uses to measure employment.

The 10 percent unemployment rate translated into 4.6 million Filipinos in the workforce out of work, up from 7.3 million a quarter ago, but up from 2.4 million a year ago.

Of the 74.1 million Filipinos over the age of 15 who had been counted as part of the workforce in July, 45.9 million or 61.9 percent were employed, seeking better jobs, or unemployed.

The number of people in the workforce increased from 45 million in July last year and 41 million in April, taking into account the recent graduates who entered the labor market.

The number of Filipinos employed in July fell to 41.3 million from 42.5 million a year ago, but more than the 33.8 million employed last April.

As more Filipinos returned to their jobs, the number of employees who wanted a better job also increased: the underemployment rate rose to 17.3 percent in July from 13.6 percent during the same month last year, though below the 18.9 percent for April.

At least 7.1 million Filipinos, seeking longer or better paid work hours, surpassed 5.8 million in July last year and 6.4 million in April.

Mapa said jobs recovered faster outside of Metro Manila as the country’s most populous and densely populated capital region continued to fail in the COVID-19 slowdown.

The unemployment rate for the National Capital Region (NCR) stood at 15.8 percent in July, the highest in the 17 regions of the Philippines.

The newly formed Bangsamoro region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) had the lowest unemployment rate of 3.8 percent.

Mapa said economic activities resumed earlier outside of NCR, especially where COVID-19 cases were lower and quarantine measures were less stringent.

Additionally, Mapa said the July 2020 labor survey showed a faster increase in labor force participation in areas outside of Metro Manila, likely due to Filipinos who had signed up for the Balik Probinsya program looking for new jobs at home. .

By sector, the five occupations that yielded the most jobs year over year were:

Entertainment and artistic recreation, reducing 72.9 percent of jobs to 117,000
Accommodation and food service, 35.9 percent to 1.3 million
Information and communication, 28.8 percent up to 306,000
Fisheries and aquaculture, 21.2 percent to 1.1 million
Professional, scientific and technical companies, 19.7 percent to 248,000.

Comparing employment figures for July with those for April, Acting Secretary for Socio-Economic Planning Karl Kendrick T. Chua told a news conference that jobs in agriculture, construction, manufacturing, commerce and transportation led the rebound.

“The decline in the unemployment rate means that about 2.7 million jobs returned as the quarantine level decreased,” Chua said.

“In addition, some 4.9 million workers rejoined the workforce. In total, some 7.5 million jobs were restored, ”said Chua, who heads the state planning agency National Economic Development Authority (Neda).

“The July survey figures show a direct link between the level of quarantine restriction and labor market outcomes,” he said.

He said that when 78.8 percent of the economy was locked under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) last May, gross domestic product (GDP) and unemployment “worsened to record levels.”

In July, when only 2.1 percent of the economy was in ECQ, “the result is a significant reduction in the unemployment rate and the return of 7.5 million jobs.”

“These data show that the government has responded to the needs of the people and will continue to do so,” Chua said.

Chua said he sees better GDP and unemployment in the coming months, but these “will depend on how open the economy is.”

“This implies a better strategy” in the fight against coronavirus that involves principles of “detect, isolate, treat and recover,” he said.

“It also requires a sufficient and safe amount of public transportation that, if necessary, is supported by subsidies from service contracts,” Chua said.

“Without the public transport system set back enough, many people cannot go back to work,” he added.

“To illustrate, under GCQ [general community quarantine], NCR’s share of the economy that is allowed to open is 58.2 percent, but without enough public transportation, it drops to 35.5 percent, ”he said.

“To recover from this crisis, we will need to open up the economy even more. This will depend on everyone working together to meet health standards, as the government accelerates the implementation of the recovery program, ”added Chua.

Neda’s boss said three things would help drive a return to employment:

Bayanihan’s pending P165 billion stimulus to recover as one, or Bayanihan 2, bill
Sustained implementation of high-value infrastructure projects within the framework of “Build, Build, Build” (BBB)
The proposed national budget for 2021 of 4.5 billion pesos

Chua said BBB was expected to create 1.1 million direct and indirect jobs this year, plus an additional 1.7 million in 2021.

In 2021, the creation of 2.4-2.8 million jobs was projected to reduce the unemployment rate to 6-8 percent, Chua said.

By 2022, the unemployment rate should return to pre-pandemic levels of just 4-5 percent, Chua added, based on the assumption that a COVID-19 vaccine would be widely available by mid-2021.

TSB

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