The role of Filipino youth in the workforce is foreseen to be vital in the next few years. The increasing number of youth in the labor force is envisioned to produce a new generation of workers who possess advanced skills such as IT, research, among others, that are highly needed by employers due to advances in technology. Further, technological advances are expected to increase demand for highly-skilled workers across age group, not just only on the youth group.
These, among other scenarios on the “future of work,” were cited in the ILS research titled “Macroeconomics and Modelling for Labor Market Analysis: Philippines Employment Projection Model and Key Indicators of the Labor Market.”
Such forecasts were based on the research’s analysis of the current situation of the Philippine Labor Market using data culled from the Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM), part of the broader International Labour Organization (ILO) statistical database or ILOSTAT, and evaluation of the Philippine Employment Projection Model (PEPM).
Since its release in 1999, the ILO flagship product KILM has become a cornerstone of information for those concerned with the world of work particularly researchers and policymakers throughout the world. This product offers timely data and tools for those seeking to run their own analysis. The KILM has set two (2) primary objectives in 1999, which has undoubtedly met over the year, namely: (1) to present a core set of labor market indicators; and (2) to improve the availability of the indicators to monitor new employment trends. In addition to these objectives, it has evolved into a primary research tool that provides not only the means for analysis, but also guidance on interpretation of indicators and data trends.
The KILM is a collection of 18 “key indicators of the labor market”, which include core employment indicators such as employment and unemployment rates as well as other variables relating to employment (status, sector, hours, flows etc.), the lack of work and the characteristics of jobseekers, education, wages and compensation costs, labor productivity and working poverty.
The research further stated that given population trends and trends in the labor force participation rates, the Philippine workforce will continue to increase in size but at a steady-state rate. In terms of workforce composition, the trend is for a shift in more balanced distribution by sex particularly in the services sector. However, a one-sided distribution of sex is foreseen in the agricultural and industry sectors.
The results of the projection performed using the ILO’s Global Employment Trends (GET) Model and PEPM gave explanation to the indispensable roles played by private and government sector in generating employment opportunities. Investments and business expansion, activities which the private sector carry out in the economy, are vital in order to create more jobs leading to increase in consumption expenditure eventually boosting overall economic performance, as measured by GDP. While most of the jobs available in the labor market are created by the private sector, it is the role of the government to implement policy measures particularly labor market policies to enhance the quality of jobs in each sector of the economy.
Increased productivity growth will support increase in wages. Rising workers’ productivity, if sustained, should lead to more workers earning higher wages in the future.
The Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) is the policy research and advocacy arm of the Department of Labor and Employment. For more information on this story, please contact the Advocacy and Publications Division at 527-3490.