THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Davao Region has reported that nearly 24,000 workers in the entire region were displaced, almost a year since the Covid-19 pandemic erupted.
DOLE-Davao Assistant Director Jason Balais said in a press conference on Friday, March 12, that as of March 9, the agency has listed a total of 23,981 workers displaced in the region.
Balais said most of the workers were displaced because the establishments they were working for either reduced or retrenched their workers permanently.
This is a result of quarantine restrictions imposed to mitigate the spread of the Covid-19.
He clarified, though, that the figure is not in real-time and that the figure may change in the coming days.
"We don't have real-time tracking on those who are displaced and those rehired. In terms of what was reported to Dole, I'm sure that some of them have sought another employment and may be rehired," Balais said.
Balais said the region's current unemployment rate is at 10.4 percent, the highest after many years.
He said this is an increase from an average four percent unemployment rate over the past years.
"Given the economic situation that we have, many establishments had to cease operations," the official said.
Meanwhile, based on the 2021 termination report due to economic reasons as of February 2021, 131 establishments have submitted their termination reports, where a total of 1,770 workers were affected.
Based on the breakdown, 1,221 workers from 103 establishments that reduced or retrenched employees, while 381 workers from 21 establishments were affected after these permanently ceased operation, and seven establishments temporarily closed affecting 168 workers.
Based on the profile of establishments that submitted their termination report by employment size, 61 establishments belong to the small enterprise, while 41 are from the micro-enterprise, then 22 are large business entities, and seven are medium enterprises.
Among the top three reasons for termination are financial losses, retrenchment to prevent losses, and a combination of lack of market and financial losses.
The top three industries with the highest number of affected workers include agriculture, forestry and fishing; administrative and support service activities and transportation and storage; and other service activities.
To help the displaced workers, especially those in the tourism sector, Dole along with the Department of Tourism and Davao Public Employment Service Office (Peso) launched on Friday, Mar. 12, the Virtual Job Fair.
Balais encouraged job seekers to coordinate with their respective Peso offices online.
A total of 1,312 positions are available from 18 companies. The job fair is targeting affected workers in the tourism industry, but Balais added the agency will be rolling out a series of virtual job fairs in the future.