Jobless rate falls to new record-low since pandemic

by Chino S. Leyco

The country’s unemployment rate fell to 5 percent in September this year, a new record low after the full reopening of the economy since the pandemic.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday, Nov. 8, that the local labor market sustained its positive momentum with unemployment rate falling to five percent from 5.3 percent unemployment rate in August this year and 8.9 percent in September last year. 

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said this translates to 2.5 million jobless Filipinos in September or 183,000 lower than the the 2.68 million with no jobs in the previous month. Balisacan also noted that the jobless level was largely at par with major Asian economies and is even lower compared to that of India, Indonesia, and China.

With the resumption of economic activities, an additional 2.2 million Filipinos joined the workforce, raising the country’s labor force participation rate to 65.2 percent in September from 63.3 percent year-on-year. 

With the decline in unemployment, employment rate improved to 95 percent, the highest recorded rate since January 2020.

The significant de-escalation of community quarantine restrictions translates to an employment creation of four million year-on-year, bringing the total employment to 47.6 million during the month.

“The recent survey results show the gains of the full reopening of our economy,” Balisacan said. 

“The government will leverage on this momentum by strengthening policy interventions and investing in innovation and technology systems geared toward generating higher-quality employment that provides adequate income for Filipino workers and their families,” he added.

Employment growth was observed across all sectors with the services sector accounting for 2.8 million more employed individuals, followed by the industry and agriculture sectors that registered an additional 682,000 and 461,000 additional employment, respectively.

However, the underemployment rate worsened to 15.4 percent from 14.2 percent in September, as more than 882,000 individuals sought to earn additional income with the spike in commodity prices due to inflation.

“Ensuring food security remains as our top priority. In the immediate term, government is providing targeted cash transfer as well as fuel and crop subsidies to help protect the purchasing power of Filipinos and reduce the incidence of invisible underemployment among low-income households,” Balisacan said.

In addition, Balisacan highlighted the need for effective implementation of emergency employment programs and other forms of assistance to immediately assist those who were hard-hit by the calamities.

“As we are expecting La Niña and near to above-normal rainfall conditions in the coming months, we need to boost our disaster resilience and climate adaptation measures,” he said.

LIFE CHANGES DRAMATICALLY

Do you remember, my dear readers, what I wrote already months ago at this corner? Our life will never be the way it used to be - due to Covid-19. Everything in our life changed. Really everything. 

Being in online classes while teaching or in the daily home office, I experienced a total change when it comes to the digital body language:  cues you send – or don't send. Writer David Robson gets to the point in a nutshell: "Online, as in real-life, it's not just what you say – but how you say it".

Think about the last work email that you sent. Did its sentences end with full stops or exclamation marks, or did you forgo punctuation altogether? Was it peppered with emoji – or plain text? And was your response prompt, or did you have to apologize for the time it had taken to reply?

Now, consider your last Zoom call. Did you check your phone or email at least once during the meeting? And did you pause to be sure that the other speaker had finished? Or did you find yourself frequently interrupting their sentences, as you failed to take into account the slight delays in the connection?

According to the leadership expert Erica Dhawan, these are all examples of our “digital body language” – a concept that serves as the title of her new book. Like our in-person physical body language, digital body language concerns the subtle cues that signal things like our mood or engagement, and change the meaning of the words we say – be it in text, on the phone or in a video call.

Following David Robson, it is needless to say, the rise of remote working during the pandemic has only made these issues more urgent, but psychologists have long known that digital communication is ripe for misunderstanding.

So, what can be done? It’s indeed a question of mindfulness, so that we can be sure that our digital body language is intentional and appropriate to the situation at hand.

Do you like emojis?!? Well, first consider written communication, starting with the use of emoji and punctuation marks, like the exclamation point. Stylists may sneer, but many people (and include me in!) argue that they often help to clarify the meanings of the words themselves, much in the same way as a nodding head or a smirk in person. Whether you’re signalling urgency or excitement with ALL CAPS, impatience and irritation with an “?!?” or mutual appreciation with a fist-bump emoji, you are helping your text to convey the feelings you would have embodied in person.

It took me almost a whole year, but right now allow me to tell you: don’t feel shy about adopting these more informal digital cues, where appropriate – and be aware that others may well be expecting them.

Broadly, your use of punctuation and emojis are part of a bigger set of cues that will establish the tone of your exchanges – whether they feel formal or informal, enthusiastic or bored. Other signals will include your greetings (whether you include a friendly “Hello” at the start of the message or simply dive straight in), and your sign off (an emotionally distant “Regards” versus an enthusiastic “Thanks!”).

Honestly, sometimes I'm really getting tired of video calls and zoom meetings. They present their own unique problems. Your body language, manners and level of engagement on video-chat platforms can influence how colleagues see you and interpret your message. Even during my online teaching, I observed some student being absent-minded or even not being dressed well.

Whatever medium you use, you should remain conscious of two factors – trust and power – in all your interactions. These ratings will be subjective, of course, but if you sense there is a clear gap on either of these dimensions, you need to be more cautious.

In the past, the handshake, the smile and the smile gave us many well trusted signals,– but in online communication, our gratitude is often less apparent, or may not be expressed at all. Measures to remedy this could be as simple as sending a follow-up email, after a virtual meeting, to make it clear that you valued someone’s input, or cc’ing a junior colleague on an email to a client, acknowledging the role they played in a project. We can’t just assume that our colleagues will know how much we value them.

Erica Dhawan’s book Digital Body Language, is out now from St Martin’s Press. I learned a lot from her, especially perfecting our digital body language will take practice – but a few moments of thought each day may save hours of anxiety and confusion in the days and weeks ahead.

Earlier in this writeup, I mentioned David Robson. He is the author of The Intelligence Trap: Revolutionise Your Thinking and Make Wiser Decisions (Hodder & Stoughton/WW Norton) – out now in paperback. He is @d_a_robson on Twitter.

Since the pandemic, employees are leaving the workforce or switching jobs in droves. For many, employers have played a big part in why they're walking away. It's another big change in our business world. Read more about my thoughts in my next column here at this corner.

A COLUMNIST IN PANDEMIC TIMES

Since the former 80s, I have been a columnist in different publications throughout the globe. I've written on many subjects under the sun. Politically, I have generally held back. Why? Why should I meddle in things I don't understand?

Hold on! Don't get me wrong! I have my own opinion regarding - as I said earlier - anything under the sun. In this time, many writers and dear columnist friends overturn themselves with different opinions. People have changed. Accepting others' opinions is almost impossible. Many times, so-called "shit storms" followed. Fortunately, I have been spared this until now. It is also not my intention to start any war with my opinion.

But, it hurts me very much how people have changed so negatively no matter where on earth. One thing is as clear as the Amen following every single prayer in  church. This pandemic has changed all of us and maybe I'll be one of them.

While I am writing my biography, I keep diving back into the world of yesterday. If not, how could I write about my past. Was really everything much better than it is today? I leave the answer to you my dear readers. Because one thing is certain: we're all in the same boat. It is up to each and every one of us how to cope with the present time.

I have at first God. Secondly, my family in the Philippines. And you?

SPECIAL REFLECTIONS

 

Can you imagine that there are some benefits from keeping old newspaper clippings? I mean my old previously published columns. For me yes.

From life experiences, I see that progress and failure are both parts of my journey. My columns are mostly a view into a mirror. I am reminded of God's grace when I read (and wrote before) how He helped me to find solutions to problems. I also gained insight from past struggles that help with issues I am currently facing during this pandemic times. I remember one of my previous columns entitled "If failures get results".

God has indeed been faithfully working in my life.

I read a story by Dennis Fisher, who didn't keep publishing clippings but a spiritual journal. He advised: "Journaling may be useful to you too. It can help you see more clearly what God is teaching you on life's journey. To begin a journal, record your struggles, reflect on a verse that is especially comforting or challenging, or write a prayer of thankfulness for God's faithfulness."

Pandemic and Christmas. The most awaited season of the years has finally come. For many of us, December should still be a glow that blossoms across the eastern horizon bringing the promise of a new beginning. December and Christmas should be the song to awaken our hardened hearts, to touch those people around us, who might have waited a long time for such a move. Let's become "new people" at last.

Yes, I won't lose hope and belief in a better next year. The virus may be there but it can't erase Christmas.

DdO's "Back-liners": Growing enough amidst pandemic

Davao de Oro Province---Farmers are also our living heroes. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, farmers around the globe never stop to provide agricultural produce preventing food crisis.

In Davao de Oro, the provincial government continues in supporting its local farmers who directly upholds food security in serving as back-liners in the fight against Covid-19.

During the Joint virtual meeting of the Provincial Local Health Board (PHLB) and Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force (PIATF), PAGRO-DdO gave its updates on food security and contingency plan of the province. Through its Quick Turn Around (QTA) Project for Rice Production, out of 12, 483.27 hectares of land area, 9,986.62 hectares were planted and harvested with a total production of 49, 933.1 metric tons of rice as of October 26, 2020.

As a response to the current issue on the low purchasing price of palay, the provincial government will establish an additional MPDP (Multi-Purpose Drying Pavement) to thoroughly dry the “palay” before selling it to buyers. They will also provide “sackoline” or “trapal” for the rice farmers to fully utilize potential drying areas.

The National Food Authority (NFA) also signifies to construct an additional drying facility and will partner with the provincial government to establish the project. To further support local farmers, the Department of Agriculture will provide cash assistance amounting to Php 5,000 to farmers with an area of 1 hectare and below and will provide fertilizer and seeds covering 12,000 hectares.

On Adlay Rice Distribution, 1, 983 kilos of Adlay seeds were distributed to municipalities, infantry battalions, farmers and walk-in clients. Some of it were already harvested and others are on the harvestable stage.

Beneficiaries on the fishery sector who received tilapia fingerlings last April and May 2020 started to reap the fruits of their hard-work. The in-land fish culture augmented the fish supply aside from the harvest from fish cages in the salt waters of Davao de Oro.

Local farmers in the province also have direct access to sell their produce through “Kadiwa On Wheels”. Marketing assistance were given to the farmers by the Libasan Primary Multi-purpose Cooperative (LIPRIMCO) and Paloc Multi-purpose Cooperative through buying and selling local produce amounting to a million pesos.

The Agri-Fishery program of the Davao de Oro continues as Geographically Isolated and Disadvantage Areas (GIDA) in Mabini received seedling of corn and red beans as beneficiary of the program.  Irrigators Associations such as the Upper Saosao Irrigators and Nabunturan Irrigator’s Association received mung beans and watermelon seeds in support of the “Plant, Plant, Plant Program” of the Department of Agriculture.

On livestock and crop insurance, The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) has approved the resolution of Davao de Oro Provincial Task Force Organizational and Development Group (ODS) to continue the renewal of the crop and livestock insurance of the province.

Long term effects of the pandemic cannot be elucidated, but it is clear that a resilient food system is a key to withstand whatever circumstances that will arise in the future. (Jasteen P. Abella, Information Division Davao de Oro)

PANDEMIC AND RELIGIOUSNESS

My column in BusinessWeek Mindanao, Mindanao Daily and The Metro Cagayan de Oro Times
 

How do you survive this time of new lock downs and their restrictions,  and daily news that only have one topic: Corona, Corona, Corona? One of the most important parts in my life is the belief in supernatural power which governs the universe. Maybe,  because I was born and raised in a parish house in Germany.

It doesn't matter which religion we belong to or believe in: the recognition of God as an object of worship, the form of worship should be our primary need. Sad to say, more and more people get another opinion nowadays. Criticizing people, who are praying more especially now, hurts me.

During my stay in several Western countries before this pandemic, I experienced icy and conceited comments such as religiousness isn't popular any more. Religiousness makes people unwilling and morose because of exaggeration and sometimes even hypocrisy. 

How come? We want to see the religiousness of our fellow creatures. We want to understand their ideology.

But we are also poking our nose into other people's business too much. Let's look behind the scenes and let's find out what religious behavior promotes: humility in actual life. Maybe. It's hard for us to do without affecting others.

We even forget the real meaning of religiousness. St. John Crysostom subscribed to the topic "Pagans and Christians" very well: "There would be no pagans if we were good Christians. But the pagans see us manifesting the same desires, pursuing the same objects - power and honor - as themselves, how can they admire Christianity?"

They see our lives open to reproach and our souls worldly. We admire wealth equally with them and even more. How, then, can they believe? From miracles? But these are no longer wrought. From our conversion? It has become corrupt. From charity? Not a trace of it is anywhere seen. (Quotation "Winnowing Fan", Vol. XX, June 2003, S of G Foundation, Makati).

Well, during this really not easy time, I am proud of having people in my surroundings here in the Philippines who taught me how to be on the right track - unconcerned and unnoticed. Natural and uninhibited, they showed me how to put real religiousness into action besides praying and going regularly to church. I call such people religious. I mean it as praise because they don't like to blow their trumpets while acting as Christians in our daily life. 

Having such people around us makes it easier to stay strong and to overcome loneliness and missing all the good things, we are no more allowed to do. Social gatherings, travelling, personal business meetings, visiting cultural events and to get the whole sacrament personally from the hand of a priest or pastor.

HOW BEING ISOLATED HAVE ALTERED US

Did our personalities are shaped by our experiences and social interactions? Being isolated from friends, family, and colleagues is indeed strong tobacco for all of us.


There wasn’t just one lock-down – we all had our own experience. Some people - including me and my family - were forced into months of unbroken solitude, others trapped for weeks on end with an estranged spouse. Some saw it as a positive experience – a welcome opportunity to slow down, go for walks and relax with a loving partner, or enjoy quality time with the children.



Whichever way the lock-down played out, there has been one near-universal aspect to the past months – it abruptly disrupted our daily routines and living arrangements in ways that would not normally occur. Nothing new. And we don't know how long this will last.



The Senior editor at Aeon+Psyche Christian Jarrett asks interesting questions: Will this strange time have left its mark on us, not just superficially, but deep down? As we venture out tentatively, do we do so with our personalities somehow altered? And if so, how will our new selves cope as we begin to mix and travel once again?



I strongly agree with his answers. For much of psychology’s history, personality – the set of enduring habits of behavior, emotion, and thought that form each person’s unique identity – was considered set in stone, at least beyond early adulthood. Research over the last few decades, however, has led to a consensus that, while personality traits are relatively stable, they are not completely fixed. Instead, they continue to evolve through life and in response to major life events.



In other words, from a theoretical perspective, there is every possibility that at least some of us will have been left changed by the lock-down.



Honestly, I have problems getting along without the usual daily face-to-face contact with friends, family, and colleagues. Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest the same. Although conscious that I’ve been more fortunate than many in my experience of the pandemic so far, I also know that I’ve been feeling less stressed due to less rushing around, but also more withdrawn and introverted. Friends of mine (also not too adversely affected) agree they feel different – more reflective, perhaps, but also less sociable. In one of my previous write-ups at this corner, I praised my status at the home office. Maybe you still remember it?



The many months of changes to our routines may have led to changes in our behavior that will stick long after the pandemic has finished. It “may lead to new norms, which may over time also shape our personalities,” says Wiebke Bleidorn at the Personality Change Laboratory at the University of California, Davis. I am sure, she is so very true.