DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 9 Feb) – As community restrictions eased, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)-Davao region said the number of workers who lost jobs in 2021 decreased to 11,871 coming from 566 companies whose operations were severely affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Cacao workers in Davao City.” MindaNews file photo
This is lower by 42% compared with 20,592 workers from 1,206 companies affected by the pandemic in 2020.
NEDA-Davao director Maria Lourdes Lim said during a virtual press conference streamed over the Philippine Information Agency-Davao’s Facebook page that the total establishments included 450 companies that downsized operations leading to retrenchments, permanent closure of 85 firms, and temporary closure of 31 others.
“The expected level of employment achieved in 2021 as well as lesser number of retrenched workers and business closures are signs that the region is achieving its pre pandemic employment numbers,” she said.
Lim added that the majority of the companies affected were from agriculture, forestry and fishery sector (AFFS), particularly the banana plantations in the region; and other services, including membership in organizations, repair of computers and personal and household goods.
“As these establishments continue to cope with lingering effects of pandemic, the top reason for termination of workers was the financial losses that these establishments continue to experience in 2021,” she said.
Lim said the region saw improvement in employment figures last year.
She reported that the region was able to sustain high employment rates between the first and third quarters of 2021 within the range of 94.6% to 95% “due to reopening and sustained business operations as the spread of COVID-19 was contained.”
She said the third quarter employment rate of 2021 was almost at par with pre-pandemic level during the first quarter of 2020 at 95.4%.
In 2020, the region posted an employment rate of 95.4% in the first quarter, decreased significantly to 82.1% in the second quarter, and slightly improved to 92% in the third quarter, she said.
“The said containment was attributed to massive vaccination drive by both the private and public sectors during the end of 2021 that yielded at 66.6% coverage for fully vaccinated individuals in Davao region, particularly for Davao City, we recorded a 90.2% vaccination coverage as recorded by DOH-Davao,” she said.
She said as less restrictions in people mobility were observed in 2021, more quality jobs were generated as reflected in the region’s underemployment rates which declined significantly to 9% in the second quarter.
However, she said the underemployment rate increased to 17.8% in the third quarter of 2021.
Despite the challenges confronting the region, she said the agency remained optimistic that it will continue to expand employment opportunities with the implementation of prevent, detect, isolate, treat, reintegrate, accelerated vaccination or PDITR-V of the Regional Task Force against COVID-19.
“This strategy essentially includes measures such as the aggressive promoting and enforcement of minimum public health standards and imposition of granular lockdowns instead of quarantine to whole areas,” she said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
