DOLE reports 95.2 percent Cordillera employment rate

By Carlito C. Dar

BAGUIO CITY -- The employment sector in the region remains bright as the Department of Labor and Employment reported a 95.2 percent employment rate and a 4.8 percent unemployment rate first quarter of this year.

            DOLE-Cordillera regional sirector John Henry Jalbuena, bared in a media forum with current 793,000 workforce in Cordillera, the 95.2 percent employment rate translates to 755,000 working individuals  while the 4.8 percent unemployment rate translates to 35,000 individuals without  work.

            Jalbuena also disclosed the region’s underemployment rate, which stands at 18.5 percent, remains to be a concern. 

            Underemployment is defined as a situation in which a worker is employed, but not in the desired capacity, whether in terms of compensation, hours, or level of skills and experience.

            Jalbuena said their concern involves the two sides of underemployment based on work hours, which are those who have jobs but work less than 40 hours a week and those who work for 40 hours a week but yearns for more, which is usually the case happening in the Agriculture, farming and fisheries sector.

            The  DOLE, along with  its attached agencies, aim  to focus on this  through a convergence of their programs, Jalbuena   said, adding the  DOLE  implemented programs to address underemployment  such as the Skills Registry System (SRS), Philjobnet and through career coaching and job-matching seminars.