The record low numbers show fewer jobless Filipinos now than in previous years. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported a record low of 4.3 percent joblessness in 2023, translating to 2.19 million Filipinos unemployed, or those aged 15 years and older without jobs but actively seeking one. 

This is lower than in 2022, when there were 2.67 million unemployed Filipinos. The 2023 statistic is the lowest jobless rate in two decades. 

But the question should be: Is the employment rate an accurate metric to determine progress in our country? Surely, no single metric must be considered. There are several metrics, ratios, and statistics to determine whether there is economic development. 

In a survey conducted by SWS in the fourth quarter of 2023, 47 percent of Filipino families rated themselves “poor.” This percentage is equivalent to 13 million Filipino families. Considering this and the low joblessness metric, we can assume that while more Filipinos are employed, they still consider themselves  “poor.” 

Why they rate themselves as poor depends on the availability of food on the table and its quality. The scarcity of food may lead to low nutrition, which will affect their health and education. Unfed children would mean low grades and employment in lesser technical and knowledge-based jobs, which is why most employed Filipinos are in the services sector, such as construction, where the highest increase in employment was realized. 

This can be both settling and unsettling — Filipinos are able to put food on the table, but only just enough for them to get by. If we factor in Filipinos’ difficulty in obtaining other opportunities, the rising costs attributed to inflation, and what is lost due to traffic and immobility in our business districts, there seems to be no way to get out of this current rut. 

In the speeches and press releases of the administration, we are made to dream of a “Bagong Pilipinas.” As an optimist, I believe we can attain this vision, but it will take more than political will or a more stable sense of permanence to instill the need for change and uplift the lives of an entire country.

We have only ourselves to blame for a lot of things. In elections, for instance, Filipinos would rather vote for someone who will help them get by instead of someone who will instill long-lasting changes. 

We prefer to vote for someone who would give us ayuda (assistance) regularly instead of those who would educate us and equip us with the necessary skills. This is why Filipinos decide to work abroad, searching for better opportunities. One government policy that I don’t agree with — which is a policy of every administration — is our support and push to send more Filipinos abroad when they should be brought back to our country. 

Filipinos abroad have been there for one generation already. They have young children born and raised abroad, searching for their cultural identity. Let us give that to them and invite them to give back to their mother country. 

In the US, for instance, we see Filipino-Americans making waves in politics, business, sports, and entertainment. These Filipinos were educated, fed well, and raised in an environment filled with opportunities — something absent in their motherland, the Philippines. 

Our President can be considered a global statesman. He can use this to bring back interest in “investing” in the Philippines to benefit not just a few but those searching for better jobs, higher income, and better global opportunities.