IN A bid to further reduce unemployment, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) plans to enhance its employment facilitation services.
In a statement, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said they aim to find employment opportunities for more Filipinos in the coming months.
"While the economy continues to reopen, we also recognize that business is still struggling to recover. Nonetheless, we continue to facilitate employment services," said Bello.
"It's our goal to have productive and gainfully employed Filipino workers," he added.
Bello cited existing DOLE programs such as Trabaho, Negosyo, Kabuhayan (TNK), Balik-Trabaho Online Job Fair, and youth employability programs, namely, the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) and the Government Internship Program (GIP).
"Various government agencies have been consulted and supported the initiative and targets to be rolled out in 2021 as part of the whole-of-nation approach for full economic recovery," said Bello.
Based on the October 2020 Labor Force Survey (LFS), the country’s unemployment rate continued to improve to 8.7 percent in October from 10 percent in July, and 17.6 percent in April.
In actual number, there were an estimated 3.8 million jobless individuals in October, compared to 4.6 million unemployed in July 2020. (HDT / SunStar Philippines)