The Department of Labour and Employment (DoLE) in the Philippines said its efforts are currently focused on improving job quality, and pledged not to be complacent in the face of easing unemployment, reports Business World Online. Preliminary results of the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Labour Force Survey for October show an 18-year low jobless rate of 4.2%. “We are not complacent. The challenge to provide higher-quality jobs remains,” Labour Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma told reporters in a briefing. Laguesma said enhancing job quality involves ensuring fair wages and job tenure. “When we say ‘quality job,’ it includes more remunerative compensation and long-lasting employment,” he said.

Laguesma said that by making compensation and tenure more competitive, fewer workers would be compelled to seek employment overseas, reducing the social cost to workers who have had to leave their families behind.

At the same briefing, Assistant Secretary Paul Vincent W. Añover said that the department is looking at working with the industry and education sectors to enhance job quality and training. “The numbers are good, but we will continue to emphasize the government-industry-education linkage and partnership to ensure the quality of training,” he said.

Laguesma said that updated training schemes for the workforce will help in mitigating the displacement resulting from emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). “When there are changes in technological processes, there is a corresponding work displacement,” he said. “There are ongoing training initiatives so that those affected by the inevitable entry of AI can be equipped with new skills.”