President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday appealed to the labor sector to ensure the efficient implementation of the Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) plan, which will help generate at least 3 million new jobs by 2028.

Speaking at the first-ever 2024 National Employment Summit in Manila, Marcos said the TPB is a 10-year roadmap that will serve as the national guide toward greater employment generation and recovery.

“In line with our priorities, and the outcomes that we desire, and strategies stated in the Philippine Development Plan, the Philippine Labor and Employment Plan, the Strategic Investment Priority Plan, and the Workforce Development Plan, the TPB Plan will be one of the driving forces to help create at least three million new jobs by the year 2028,” Marcos said.

The President also said that beyond generating employment, the government is also seeking to create “quality jobs, with special emphasis on ensuring workers’ welfare, empowerment, competitiveness, and security in all sectors of our labor sector.”

This is why, according to Marcos, the government is working doubly hard to address job-skills mismatch, underemployment, and unemployment through the reforms in the basic education curriculum, the embedding of TVET or Technical and Vocational Education and Training in the Senior High School curriculum, and the implementation of employment facilitation initiatives.

Most of the labor statistics improved from April 2023 to 2024, according to the Labor Force Survey as of June 6 this year, with employment rate slightly up from 95.50 percent to 96 percent, and employed individuals increasing from 48.06 million to 48.46 million.

The country’s unemployment rate also decreased from 4.5 percent to 4 percent.

However, the Labor Force Survey showed the underemployed individuals increased from 12.90 percent to 14.60 percent, while the labor force participation rate rose from 64.10 percent to 65.10 percent.

Based on the Philippine Labor Market, the service sector took up 61.40 percent of the labor industry, followed by the agricultural sector at 20.30 percent, while the remaining 18.30 percent went to the industry sector. (PNA)