CONSTRUCTION is now the most hard-hit sector in terms of labor displacement, making up 25 percent of the over 25,000 employees who permanently lost their jobs last month.
This is according to a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) labor-displacement report that showed 6,151 construction workers became jobless from January 1 to 31, 2021.
The DOLE is pinning hopes this situation would be reversed this year. That is, if the government starts ramping up the implementation of big-ticket infrastructure projects in the coming months.
The other top sectors with the most permanent unemployment are: other service activities (4,919); administrative and support service activities (2,663); manufacturing (2,622); accommodation and food service activities (1,368); wholesale and retail trade; repair of of motor vehicles and motorcycles (1,295); information and communication (1,231); and, arts, entertainment and recreation (1,013).
Last year, the three sectors which have consistently had the highest number of displaced workers were: other service activities; administrative and support service activities; and, manufacturing.
The number of unemployed workers started to rise after the government started to enforce community quarantines to stop the spread of Covid-19. These lockdowns disrupted operations of businesses and restricted mobility.
Least affected
THE DOLE report noted that the sectors with the least number of jobs losses are: transportation and storage (686); human health and social work activities (686); agriculture, forestry and fishing (393); professional, scientific and technical activities (380); education (369); financial and insurance activities (278); real estate activities (186); electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (78); mining and quarrying (16); and, water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (5).
Most or 89 percent of the 25,226 permanently displaced from 2,799 establishments last month are in the National Capital Region (15,324), Central Visayas (3,671), Calabarzon (1,957) and Central Luzon (1,456).
The regions with the lowest displacement are: Caraga (12); Eastern Visayas (41); Cordillera Administrative Region (44); and, Zamboanga Peninsula (56).
“Retrenchment or reduction of workforce was mostly observed in small enterprises (482) while there is higher incidence of permanent closure in micro enterprise (54),” the labor department said.
Temporary displacement
THE labor department also reported that 108,089 workers were temporarily displaced.
Of this number, about 77,356 were affected by flexible work arrangements, which include reduction of workdays and work-from-home schemes that were implemented by 1,617 establishments.
The remaining 30,733 were affected by the temporary closure of 1,182 establishments.
Majority of the establishments [that] adopted flexible work arrangement were small enterprises (672). On the other hand, greater number of establishments under micro-enterprises implemented temporary closure (604), the DOLE report said.
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