Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that close to five million Filipinos lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Ang record namin as of December, umaabot lamang po ng mga around a little less than five million,” Bello said in an interview with ABS-CBN News. “Konti talaga, kasi… about three million natanggal pero temporary, and under the law after six months they have to be rehired,” Bello said.
The Social Weather Stations survey showed that adult joblessness eased to 27.3 percent in November, as the country started to reopen the economy again.
According to the SWS, the 27.3 joblessness rate of about 12.7 million Filipinos was recorded from a survey conducted from November 21 to 25.
Bello, on the other hand, cannot affirm or deny if this report can be considered accurate.
“In a way medyo tama pero, hindi rin accurate. Because from our own survey, sinama nila ‘yung tinatawag nating temporarily terminated. Meaning that after six months they will have to be hired, and they also included ‘yung employees that were affected because of flexible working arrangements,” Bello said.
“Marami ‘yan, umaabot siguro 4 million ‘yan, yung mga empleyado na hindi naman natanggal sa trabaho pero nabawasan ang kanilang working hours and therefore nabawasan ang kanilang kita. But what is important is their status of employment is maintained,” Bello added.
