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Unpaid family workers MEANWHILE , amid the return of the country’s employment data to pre-pandemic levels, over 400,000 Filipinos became unpaid family workers in December 2022, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The data also showed the number of unpaid family workers increased by 420,000 to 4.28 million in December 2022 from 3.86 million in December 2021.

“ The country’s digital transformation is reducing the number of middle level skilled jobs. Unless you have reached tertiary education, your only option is lowskilled jobs that are quite precarious,” Lanzona said.

Part of what can explain this also, PSA Assistant National Statistician Wilma A. Guillen told the BusinessMirror , is the holidays and Filipinos helping out in family businesses.

It is possible, Guillen said, that Filipinos who went home during the holidays helped out their families.

T he data also showed that there was a decline compared to the 4.38 million unpaid family workers in November 2022. National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said some of these workers may have shifted to other sectors or moved out of the labor force.

N onetheless, Mapa said careful study is needed to further explain the data. He added that the dataset on unpaid family work also be granted an audience with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.

The Philippines, with its complicated investment regulations stemming from the Constitution’s prohibitive economic provisions, is now lagging behind its neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in terms of foreign direct investment registry “despite its offer of tax holidays, and other fiscal incentives,” he noted.

Moreover, while the Philippines ratified international trade and investment liberalization treaties to secure foreign investments and foster economic cooperation, the Constitution’s current economic provisions “restrict certain activities of foreign investors on exploration, development and utilization of natural resources; ownership of private lands; grant of congressional franchises; ownership and operation of public utilities; ownership of educational institutions; and ownership and management of mass media and advertising,” the senator said.

I will also invite them to visit the Philippines to be welcomed by the warm hospitality of Filipinos, who have endeared Japan and Japanese culture in their hearts,” Marcos said. He is also set to meet with Japan’s business leaders, where he will promote the country as a trade was still fresh and has to be analyzed further.

Meanwhile, the PSA data showed there was a 704,000 decline in the number of employed Filipinos in December compared to November. The data also showed there was a 43,000 increase in unemployed Filipinos between December and November.

O freneo said this was “unusual” given the busy holiday season. The hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas usually generated a significant amount of economic activity thereby creating more jobs.

However, Lanzona said the decline may have been due to the post-Christmas period in December when some of the jobs generated to prepare for the holidays were shed once the presents have been delivered to friends and family.

“ The dramatic decline in joblessness last November was due to the holiday activities. But these were mostly in retail and linked to holiday consumption. When shopping weakened after Christmas, a lot of these jobs disappeared,” Lanzona said.

Government efforts

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the top employment contributors in December 2022 include wholesale and retail trade, other service activities, and accommodation and food service activities.

T hese were boosted by the full resumption of commercial activities, pent-up demand, and holiday spending. However, these were tempered by losses in agriculture due to weather disturbances and the spread of

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“How much fish did we get supplied by municipal fishers? Zero to this day,” Buencamino said. “They could not meet the specifications.”

However, he said SCAP remains committed to the MOA as they see it as a long-term solution to ensure the industry’s sardine supply during the closed fishing season, when only municipal fishers are allowed to catch it.

“ We will not stop because the end view is to equalize the supply. We have a deal that we can perfect. We can improve it and sooner or later we can make it [work],” he said.

B FAR Spokesperson Nazario C. Briguera said the MOA between BFAR and the CSAP is a “collaboration in progress.” and investment destination. infectious diseases among livestock and poultry.

Briguera said BFAR has already started conducting training on proper fish handling, food safety standards and processing technologies to allow municipal fisherfolk to meet the requirements of the canners.

He said BFAR will hold a “dry run” during the last week of the month to “ensure” that the implementation of the MOA “will bring about positive results” with the municipal fisherfolk being able to supply the canning industry successfully.

The DA-BFAR sees the agreement not as a stopgap measure during closed fishing season but a long-term initiative with the view of mainstreaming the municipal fisherfolk to the value chain of the canned sardine industry,” he said. Under the MOA, the municipal fishers will try to supply the threemonth requirement of the canning industry, which is about 72 million kilograms in total.

“ In these meetings, I will be joined by my economic team and key private sector representatives, who have been and will be continuous partners in growing our economy,” Marcos said.

T he President said he will meet with the Filipino community in Japan so he could recognize their contribution in the country’s economic development.

We are steadfast in pursuing this year’s growth target amidst global and domestic risks to ensure that jobs are preserved and new employment is generated. Generating more and high-quality jobs in the agriculture sector and ensuring food security for Filipinos remain part of our top priorities,” Neda Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said.

N eda said as the economy further reopened, 1.7 million more Filipinos joined the labor force, raising the labor force participation rate to 66.4 percent from 65.1 percent in the previous year.

T he corresponding expansion in the services and industry sectors resulted in an additional 2.7 million employed persons year-on-year, bringing total employment to 49 million Filipinos.

As emphasized in the Philippine Development Plan 20232028, increasing the incomeearning ability of Filipinos entails developing their employability in the market. Alongside providing high-quality jobs, we must ensure that their skills are not just aligned with current indemand requirements but can also continuously keep up with the demands of evolving and emerging jobs,” Balisacan said.

Crucial to achieving social and economic transformation is the ‘transformation of talent’ that would create an agile labor force and sustain labor market gains. We will leverage our momentum to ensure the rapid and dynamic growth of our economy,” he added. Cai U. Ordinario