Unemployment

The official unemployment figures for the Philippines in 2011 are among the worst in Asia, higher than its South-East Asian neighbors and according to the International Labor Organization the country is among the worst one-fourth in the world in terms of unemployment rates. Without a strong manufacturing industry or real Filipino industry, the economy will be unable to create enough decent paying jobs. Till then manufacturing or services will remain substandard, or of low value-addition. According to employment figures, jobs in the Philippines manufacturing sector increased by just 8% of the total employment. Nearly three out of every ten people in the labor force are looking for work or are jobless. The mining sub-sector said to be one of the fastest growing industry in 2011 failed to generate new jobs (just 0.6 % of total employment).

Steadily rising inflation has contributed to the erosion of the value of the minimum wage. Though the Aquino administration increased the minimum wage and announced cash dole-outs but lack of quality decent paying jobs and higher real wages continue to be a problem. The government's policy to encourage foreign capital, even if in just low value-added assembly operations will continue to hinder real growth and development of the manufacturing sector. The Aquino administration needs to plan over the long-term, and prepare an industrialization program that encourages value-addition manufacturing or services and builds Filipino-owned industries.
ARTICLE: ( source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/economic-problems-of-the-philippines.html)




Personal Reaction
As an ordinary Filipino student, knowing that Philippine population grows, proportionally, unemployment rate increases too. So, we shouldn’t push through foreign industries since stated in preceding article that without a strong Filipino industry, the economy will be unable to create enough decent paying jobs.

Unemployment comes around due to poverty, since the primary source or income is through our salary. For me, without employment, the means of acquiring the basic needs will be gone. As a result, people are drawn deeper to poverty.

Also, one cause of high unemployment rate here in the Philippines is that lack of education of the majority. We are facing a competitive world and it’s a must to reach the norms of development. Thus, a high educational attainment, which most Filipinos lack, is one way to uplift the unemployment rate of the country.


Suggestion

Though the lack of foreign investors and businesses that could provide good jobs for us Filipinos is one of the factors of growing our country’s unemployment rate, still, Filipinos should or must have initiative in employing themselves to those Filipino business industries. Or we must establish our own business. In that way, Filipinos couldn’t just decrease unemployment rate but we could also contribute to the economic growth of our country

CORRUPTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

When a political leader lie, cheat and steal, when public officers become a common curse especially in terms of graft and corruption, when public funds go to private pockets, 'corruption' is the graves threat of Philippine democracy and society today. Corruption in the Philippines has become 'a humanitarian crisis.' and scandals increasingly seem to dominate the news. The worsening corruption has eaten up the right of every citizen to good governance, freedom, decent life, and more importantly the dignity. Corruption is a serious obstacles to the social and economic development of a country. The biggest losers are the Filipino people. In effect, the end-users are made to pay for overpriced goods or services or are made to deal with low-quality or substandard goods or services.

In this case, Since it has already become a way of life, corruption has been a part of Filipino culture. Government corruption is open and even vulgar for even those innocent individual would have the chance to have an idea on how this corruption is being manipulated. Recent generation nowadays have better education – if this current corruption we’re experiencing now won’t be terminated with the help of authority then there’s a higher possibility that these situation we have now would get even worst. To prevent that kind of serious problem, authority must take corrective actions to terminate and to punish those who are corrupt person just to minimize graft and corruption