Description:
Drawing on a panel data comprised of all 16 administrative regions in the Philippines observed over a 14 year-period (i.e., 2006-2019), the study offers empirical evidence on the linkage of Public Employment Services (PESs) and labor market outcomes (LMOs)from a developing country context via the accessibility lens. It does so by quantitatively assessing the effect of access to institutionalized Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs) on regional unemployment and underemployment rates. Based from the results of Panel-corrected Prais–Winsten Generalized Least Squares (GLS) estimation, this research finds that an increased presence of institutionalized PESOs is significantly associated with lower regional unemployment. Results further suggest that access to institutionalized PESOs is particularly indispensable at the municipal level and among regions outside of the country’s National Capital Region (NCR), more commonly known as Metro Manila, in addressing unemployment. Meanwhile, the study finds no statistically significant relationship between institutionalized PESO accessibility and regional underemployment, with or without NCR in the analysis. In line with the study’s empirical results, several recommendations for policy actions and further research are offered.

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Title: PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICES AND LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES: Evidence Of Linkage From The Philippines

Researcher: John Emmanuel B. Villanueva