The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report shows that the country's overall unemployment rate fell from 6.6% in January 2017 to a low of 5.3% in January 2018. However, unemployment in the Philippines remains the highest among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. This reflects the fact that the 2.4 million jobs generated last year were not enough to keep up with the workforce. Furthermore, the International Labor Organization said that the country will still be among the main contributors of youth unemployment in the region, as almost half (43.2%) of the unemployed are in the 15-24 age group. Despite rapid economic growth in the Philippines, youth unemployment remains high and the quality of employment is a serious cause for concern. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One of the main causes is the unavailability of jobs provided. Millions of people need work, but only a few can get one, due to the rapid rate of population growth. The Asian Development Bank has said the number of jobs generated each year is lower than needed to both absorb new entrants into the workforce and the unemployed. For this reason, the government should play a role in job creation by creating more infrastructure projects, improving services and reducing corruption. This will improve the investment climate and engagement in the private sectors. Other factors include the mismatch between supply and demand for skills in the labor market, the lack of labor market information available to young people, and insufficient employment services for at-risk youth. The imbalance between supply and demand of skills is further intensified by poor education system. Quality education is necessary to complement the needs of the labor market. Many jobs require levels of education that young people have not yet achieved. This is why there should be opportunities available to all students to gain direct work experience during their studies, to better prepare them for work. It's like giving them more time to develop skills, which makes them more productive and more valuable to employers. The ADB also said that improving the relevance and quality of technical and vocational training programs and strengthening certification frameworks will help overcome such discrepancies. Now, access to labor market information has improved with the help of technology. There are many online job portals that connect potential employees with potential employers. It provides easier access to a wide range of jobs in different sectors. However, ADB noted that many young people come from low-income families with limited social networks. So the government should collaborate with the private sector to set up employment centers especially in remote areas to provide a full range of assistance. Youth unemployment is not just our problem, the ILO, in its Global Employment Trends for Youth, reported that there are 70.9 million unemployed youth and this is expected to increase after several years of improvement. This is a huge challenge that can only be addressed with innovative policies, but what we need most is greater collaboration between private sectors, governments and society. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get an essay.
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