A TOTAL of 48,139 workers in Metro Manila have been retrenched by 1,517 business establishments this year while 2,557 employees lost their jobs when 92 companies in the capital shut down amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Of the total number of newly unemployed, 30,157 have applied for Certificates of Involuntary Separation from the Department of Labor and Employment - National Capital Region (DOLE-NCR) as of July 1, 2020.

This certificate is a requirement for the application for payment of unemployment insurance or involuntary separation benefit (cash grant) from the Social Security System (SSS).

Of the 30,157 applicants, the department’s NCR regional office said it has released 16,436 certifications.

Among those released, 15,536 were requests from workers who were involuntarily separated by locally based employers, while the remaining 900 were from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The SSS unemployment benefit is extended to employees, including house helpers (kasambahay) and OFWs, who were involuntarily separated from their job due to authorized causes, such as installation of labor-saving devices; redundancy; retrenchment or downsizing; closure or cessation of operation; or disease/illness of the employee, whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his or his co-employee's health. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)