At least 1.4 million workers went “missing” from the country’s work force last year for not attempting to look for work, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said yesterday.
A Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES) report said these were jobless workers who did not “actively” look for work and were not included among last year’s 1.3 million unemployed.
Under international standards, unemployed workers only refer to those without work but are still seeking new job opportunities, the BLES said.
BLES said the excluded workers includes those who were discouraged, waiting for results of previous job applications, expecting to be rehired, incurred temporary illness and disability, or affected by bad weather.
Those with pending job applications numbered 413,000, those waiting for job recalls numbered 410,000, and discouraged workers numbered 408,000.
BLES defined discouraged workers as job applicants aged 15 years and over who have given up any active search for work because they believe that no job vacancies are available.
It said during the previous years it noted a gradual decline in their numbers since 2006, when their figures were pegged at 506,000, as the country’s economic outlook improved over the succeeding years.
“The proportion of these workers to total unemployed, which was consistently less than 20 percent, was generally declining from a share of 19.8 percent in 2006 to a steady 14.4 percent in 2011 and 2012. This suggests that in recent years, workers are less discouraged to find a job,” BLES said.

Source: Manila Bulletin - December 26, 2013