Editorial: Unemployment amid Covid-19

Editorial: Unemployment amid Covid-19

THE reality of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic is now rushing on to us -- a number of businesses are closing down, people are losing jobs, and almost everyone is struggling to make ends meet.

According to the Labor Force Survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the unemployment rate of Davao Region in April this year soared to 17.9 percent from 3.1 percent in April 2019. This represents about 351,000 unemployed individuals in the region.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment in Davao Region reported that over 10,000 companies in the region have either partially or totally ceased their operations. This resulted in the retrenchment of employees, regardless of their status in the company.

This is not good news for many in the labor force. Losing a job is already hard and finding one must be harder.

In a bid to provide relief for those who lost their jobs in the city, the City Government of Davao has launched its Work for Davao program. The short-term employment program will employ 42,915 workers to do community works for 10 working days from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, Mondays to Fridays. They will have a daily wage of P396.

Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) supervising commissioner for Mindanao and Work for Davao in-charge Norman Baloro said in a radio interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio that the program will have 23 batches with a total of 1,866 workers for each batch.

Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio said the local government will shoulder their wages with reserved funding of P159,944,000.

The application process can be accessed on the official Facebook page of the city government of Davao.

The Public Employment Service Office (Peso) Davao City also announced that there are some 2,000 job vacancies from 28 companies in the city.

“Pinakadaghan gyud ang BPO (business process outsourcing), malls, and supermarkets. Daghan pud nanginahanglan og mga delivery drivers and para sa construction industry (There are more job vacancies in BPO companies, malls, and supermarkets. There is also demand for delivery drivers and workers in the construction industry),” Peso-Davao City manager Lilibeth D. Pantinople.

With these job opportunities being made available amid the pandemic, one must grab the opportunity to work. With the current situation, we are not one to choose the jobs that we want. What is important now is to be able to provide for our family. Once one is hired by these companies, he or she must maximize the opportunity and give their best to the company that hired them.

Times are hard. We do not know when this will end. Whatever opportunities come our way amid the pandemic, we must maximize it to get through these challenging times.

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph