MANILA, Philippines – Posibleng bumuti pa ang unemployment rate ng bansa ngayong taon kasunod ng mataas na demand sa trabaho noong Christmas season, at inaasahang mas marami pang job opportunities ngayong 2024, ayon sa ekonomista nitong Miyerkules, Enero 3.
Sinabi ni Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort na ang unemployment rate ay posibleng mas bumaba pa ng 4% dahil sa seasonal increase at peak sa demand para sa holiday season.
“The employment data for the rest of 2023, specifically November to December 2023, could still improve, particularly unemployment rate could still ease towards 4 percent due to the seasonal increase, if not, peak in demand and other businesses activities, especially in December,” ani Ricafort.
Oktubre noong nakaraang taon ay bumaba sa pinakamababang lebel na 4.2% ang unemployment rate ng bansa.
Mas mababa ito sa 2.24 milyon na unemployed individuals noong Oktubre 2022, sa 2.09 milyon noong Oktubre 2023.
Ani Ricafort, bagama’t mayroong seasonal pick-up sa unemployment rate matapos ang Pasko at Bagong Taon, inaasahan din ang recovery sa foreign at local tourism, maging ang pag-ahon ng iba pang negosyo na nasapul ng pandemya.
“Possible faster economic growth and possible slower headline inflation that could ease to with the central bank’s target would fundamentally lead to more employment creation in 2024,” aniya.
“Continued increase in infrastructure spending at least 5 percent to 6 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) and continued increase in overall government spending, especially if budget utilization is maximized, would also lead to faster economic growth and more jobs in the supply chains of the various infrastructure and other government projects.” RNT/JGC
