This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 19, June 19-25, 2005
Statistical Trick Makes 1.9 Million Jobless Disappear Malacañang resorted to
statistical trickery to declare on June 15: “Unemployment rate drops to 8.3
percent.” But a closer look at the numbers shows that the jobs situation in the
country is more dismal than ever. BY
SANDRA NICOLAS There is, it seems, no end
to the half-truths emanating from Malacañang. Amidst serious allegations of
presidential-level electoral fraud and corruption, the palace propaganda
machinery continues to churn out deceits. A June 15, 2005 press release not only
bannered the “fall” in the unemployment rate but also audaciously proclaimed,
“The government’s jobs generation and preservation thrust gains momentum.” The flimsy basis for these
claims is a change in the official
unemployment methodology in which
a huge chunk of the country’s jobless are, by methodological fiat, no longer
counted as unemployed. Based on the new and more stringent definition adopted by
the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), there were only 2.9 million
jobless Filipinos in April 2005 for an unemployment rate of just 8.3 percent.
This is the lowest recorded second quarter rate in over two decades. But that would only be
because a massive 1.9 million jobless Filipinos were magically removed from the
labor force under the changed definition, resulting in a 4.6 percent cut in the
unemployment rate. If the old definition of unemployment is used the number of
unemployed in April 2005 is actually 4.8 million and the rate a high 12.9
percent. In addition, the country’s
dire jobs situation isn’t just about unemployment. A look at the entire April
2005 Labor Force Survey (LFS) and using the old definition of employment for
comparability, clearly shows a drastically deteriorating jobs situation from
last year. It is certainly true that there was a drop in the number of
unemployed, from 5.0 million in April 2004 to 4.8 million in April 2005. But on top of the 4.8
million jobless we also have to consider the near record high 8.4 million
underemployed, or those who have jobs but are looking for additional work. The
26.1 percent underemployment rate is the highest in almost two decades. All told
this means some 13.2 million Filipinos are either unemployed or otherwise still
not earning enough from the jobs they have in order to have decent living. Other parts of the April
2005 and 2004 LFS also show that the quality of jobs in the country is
deteriorating rapidly. The share of wage and salary jobs to total employment
fell only slightly to 50.6 percent from 51.0 percent; the share of own account
and unpaid family workers slightly increased to 49.4 percent from 49.0 percent.
Wage and salary jobs presumably mean more stable earnings and offer greater
security. The number of full-time
workers meanwhile increased substantially from 55.1 percent to 62.3 percent,
while that of part-time workers fell from 41.4 percent to 35.8 percent. Yet more
or less the same relative amount of wage jobs and more full-time work were
apparently not generating enough income even for the employed since the number
of underemployed drastically increased. The kind of jobs lost and
created is also revealing. The greatest job losses were to be found in the
liberalization-battered agriculture, hunting and forestry subsector which shed
146,000 jobs and dropped to 9.6 million in total employment, and in the fiscal
deficit-battered public administration subsector which shed 126,000 jobs and
dropped to 1.5 million in total employment. In turn, most jobs created
were in low-paying, low-earning subsectors of uncertain employment. The number
of wholesale and retail trade jobs increased by 424,000 jobs to a total of 6.4
million and the number of real estate, renting and business activity employment
– covering mainly miscellaneous informal sector entrepreneurial activities –
increased by 107,000 to a total of 776,000. In short, the government is
deceiving the public on how much unemployment there is and, moreover, is less
and less able to manage the economy so that it creates decent and secure
livelihoods for the people. Bulatlat © 2004 Bulatlat
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