Party-list to graduates: 'No guarantee of a brighter future'

A YOUTH group advised 2010 graduates to accept the reality that there is "no guarantee of a brighter future."

The Kabataan party-list group said in a statement: "The rates of unemployment and underemployment remain high."

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January data of the National Statistics Office (NSO) suggests that unemployment rate in the country stands at 7.3 percent, which is a little higher than the 7.1 percent of the previous year. NSO data also noted that underemployment rate is at 19.7 percent.

Another study of the IBON Foundation also suggests that seven of ten graduates will be unemployed after their graduation.

The Kabataan said call centers, although an available source of jobs, does not necessarily translate to a progressive economy.

Foreign companies are only taking advantage of the cheap labor in the country, the group pointed.

The Kabataan also advised graduates to choose to serve the country first. "It is now, upon your graduation, that you can do bigger things for your country. Choose to serve the Filipino people and partake in advancing its interests and waging its struggles!" (Rimaliza Opiña)