A business leader believes that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s push to open the economy and create jobs pushed the country’s employment rate to pick up.
Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said this after noting that the recovery of the country’s micro industries helped fuel the economy’s growth, especially with 65 percent of employment in the Philippines coming from this industry.
He added that inflation remains manageable, and the country remains on the path to economic recovery.
“Well, I will not say out of control iyong inflation, medyo mataas lang pero iyan naman ay manageable pa iyan (I will not say that the inflation is out of control. It’s a bit high but still manageable),” Ortiz-Luis said.
“Talaga namang on track tayo dahil tuluy-tuloy naman ang paglago ng ating ekonomiya (We’re still on-track because the economy keeps growing),” he added.
Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) preliminary results of its latest labor force survey released on Wednesday, the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent in October, lower than the 7.4 percent in October 2021 and 5 percent in September.
President Marcos had said he saw bright prospects for the country’s economy after the unemployment rate dipped in October.
The ECOP president, for his part, cited the need to intensify efforts to address skills mismatch and attract investments that will generate more jobs.
According to Ortiz-Luis, Marcos’ recent travels paved the way to woo more investors and drive critical investments in various sectors.
“Lahat ng mga pledges ay hindi naman nagkakatotoo iyong iba, pero marami rin ay talagang natutuloy at marami riyan ang nagki-create ng jobs (Some pledges are not fulfilled but there’s still a lot that push through and create jobs),” he said.
“Iyong tiwala ng mga international investments sa atin ay tumataas (The trust of foreign investors in us also increased),” he added.
Source: Manila Bulletin