SHOULD investors come to Davao Region, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) wants more investments on the manufacturing sector.
Dole-Davao Assistant Regional Director Venerando Sembrano said there will be a snowballing effect to the other job-generating sectors that will stir the local economy of the region.
"Sabi nila mas mataas ang economy pagka marami ang nagma-manufacture. That's one good theory. So, if a region is into manufacturing, then it's a region good," he said.
With its high demand for labor requirement, more jobseekers will be employed in manufacturing per se, plus the other sectors will benefit in the process as an offshoot of these companies' operations.
He said, for instance, many of the manufacturing companies have high demand for necessary tools and equipment and other logistics that will redound to inclusive growth.
"Whereas kung nagtatanim at nagpro-produce ka lang ng banana, what you earn is from export, plus only those people (directly involved in the production) can benefit," he said.
"That's one of the best efforts of our investment system in the city. In that way, maraming tao ang ma-eemploy," he added.
If more investors on manufacturing will come in, this will suppress the unemployment rate of the Davao Region, which was still at 6.7 percent and boost the employment rate at 93.3 percent as of October last year.
In a report, Dole 11 reported that at least 126,680 jobs will be offered by the manufacturing until 2016.
The biggest job generation industry was still agriculture that generated 670,000 jobs for 2013. This has been projected to reach 675,350 jobs in 2016 based on the data from Regional and Social Economic Trends for Davao Region by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB).
Wholesale and retail came the second highest with 367,650 job offerings in 2013 seen to increase by 9.45 percent in 2016, reaching over 402,280 jobs.
Another major job generator in the region is the transportation and communication, which has been forecasted to offer about 141,780 jobs until 2016 while the construction with 91,525 jobs.
"The economy and employment opportunities in Davao region remains on an increasing track in the next three years and we are committed to support our labor to maintain and strengthen a peaceful and harmonious industrial relations climate," Dole-Davao Director Joffrey Suyao said in a report.
Sembrano added they are drumming up the technical vocational courses to opportunity seekers to supply industries with the needed workforce, and thus curb jobs mismatch.