Popcom marks Population and Development (Popdev) Week from November 23 to 29 for the chance to hasten the country’s socioeconomic growth to further improve the quality of life of every Filipino.
The Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) said the country must fasttrack efforts to create jobs for its 69.4 million citizens of working age.
Popcom claimed that by doing this, the country would be able to revive its socio-economic development, which is still reeling from the pandemic's effects.
The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) 2020 Census of Population and Housing showed that of that year’s total number of 109.035 million individuals, 69.4 million are within the 15 to 64 years old working-age bracket, Business Mirror reported.
Popcom Officer OIC Executive Director Lolito R. Tacardon said, “to fully tap this significant quantity of workers, the national government needs to provide steady streams of quality jobs, while capacitating them appropriately so that they can acquire needed skills by industries.”
“This should be a priority; otherwise, we might miss the chance to hasten the country’s socioeconomic growth to further improve the quality of life of every Filipino,” he added. The Popcom marks Population and Development (Popdev) Week from November 23 to 29.
Tacardon said that, unlike others experiencing labor shortages, the country is fortunate to have an almost 70-million strong work-ready citizenry.
Last July on World Population Day, he backed Popcom's opinion that "young adolescent Filipinos, who make up around 20 percent of the country's population, and its women will play a crucial part in the attainment of its much-aspired demographic dividend in the near future. They will comprise a vital segment of the local workforce and employment, as well as contribute to national economic gains.”
In addition to women and young people, Tacardon reiterated the United Nations (UN) position on inclusivity by tapping segments of the population that could be gainfully employed, including the disabled, immigrants, and the elderly.
He pointed out that there must be more jobs available for this big pool of potential Filipino workers. This demographic transition can be used to the country's advantage to achieve the desired demographic dividend, as its Asian neighbors like Thailand and South Korea were able to do decades ago. This can be done with smart policies and a quality labor force.
Tacardon then urged the private sector, as well as national and local leaders, to set policies and provide programs that can capture the benefit of having a larger workforce.
He said equal opportunities for both sexes should also be considered. This, as the labor force participation rate, according to PSA in August 2022, is still higher among men than women at 76.2 percent and 55.9 percent, respectively.
“Now is the best time to fully utilize our human resources. We need to ensure that there are available jobs out there. We also need to capacitate our workers, so that they can be more productive members of society,” Tacardon said.
“This demographic opportunity can be a key factor to achieve the country’s higher socioeconomic objectives. It is rare, and we cannot afford to miss it,” he continued.
He also emphasized that “since couples and individuals have effectively limited and spaced the number of their children in previous decades, the young base of the population has declined, and those the working age gradually increased. This reflects the effective implementation of Popdev programs, such as family planning.”
Popdev Week is celebrated annually from November 23 to 29 by virtue of Proclamation No. 76 signed on October 20, 1992. It annually establishes the significant relationship between population dynamics and overall development.
This year’s observance focuses on ways the growing number of the country’s labor force will be instrumental in contributing to the nation’s sustainable progress.
Tags: #Popcom, #jobcreation, #laborpool