The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) must consider a more “humane living wage” for all Filipino workers, that will narrow the disparity between minimum wage and the actual cost of living. 

Citing the DoLE’s proposed 2025 budget, Legarda stressed the urgent need for wage reforms, aligning it with the reality confronted by Filipino families and workers.

“The statistics we see on paper do not align with reality,” Legarda lamented, after the DoLE’s recent report on the country’s employment statistics

DoLE cited the International Labor Organization’s definition on employment, where it explained that an individual is considered employed if they have worked at least one hour during the reference period of the Labor Force Survey.

“Individuals are already considered employed if they have worked for at least one hour during the survey period, which doesn’t reflect the actual state of employment in the country,” she pointed out.

Realistic survey needed

Legarda then urged DoLE and the Institute for Labor Studies, in coordination with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), to conduct a more realistic survey that “includes those who have lost hope, those who are not actively seeking work, and the poorest of the poor who are often excluded from surveys.”

She urged the government to create its own criteria to measure the employment and unemployment rate in the country.

“We need a clear picture of those in desperate situations so we can create and provide proper interventions and programs for them,” she said.

Legarda also expressed concern over the recent report released by the PSA, which showed a notable rise in the unemployment rate to 4.7 percent, equivalent to 2.38 million unemployed Filipinos, as of July 2024. 

This is a significant increase from the 3.1 percent unemployment rate recorded by the agency just a month earlier in June 2024.