Employers’ group pledges to create 1 million jobs for 2022

MANILA, Philippines — The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) has committed to work on the creation of one million jobs this year in line with the government’s National Economic Recovery Strategy or NERS.

“ECOP is glad that the One-Million Jobs project has contributed to and complemented the efforts that our government has been undertaking to stem rampant unemployment and ensure job generation amid the pandemic,” ECOP governor and Job Creation Committee chairman Perry Ferrer said.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez earlier said the “Reform. Rebound. Recover: One Million Jobs for 2021” project has already created over 600,000 jobs from June to December 2021, which already accounts for the contribution of employment generation in the IT-BPM industry.

In June last year, ECOP, together with various business organizations which include the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Exporters Confederation, Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines, Philippine Constructors Association, Philippine Hotel Owners Association Inc., and Semiconductors and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc., and government partners led by DTI, Department of Labor and Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Transportation, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Tourism, and the Commission on Higher Education, pledged to create one million direct and indirect jobs for 2021 by immediately sourcing Filipino talents for deployment in the construction, manufacturing (particularly semiconductors and electronics), tourism, the hospitality industry, and export industries.

“With this partnership between the government and the private sector, we not only strive to create new jobs, but we also aim to reinstate some of the jobs lost during the pandemic. We are positive that working doubly hard together will help us reach our goal. ECOP is assured that the One-Million Jobs project can be a catalyst, a stepping stone, for the country’s journey to recovery,” Ferrer said.

The NERS, Lopez said, was also able to generate more than 900,000 jobs through the various programs enrolled under it from January to December 2021.

“ECOP commends the efforts of the government through the NERS Task Force in creating, saving, and recovering jobs for the Filipino people,” ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a statement.

“Although the project did not reach the targeted jobs created for 2021 due to the prevailing quarantine and mobility restrictions on goods and people, the partnership will continue this year and ECOP reiterates its commitment to continue working on creating, saving, and transforming jobs for 2022,” Ortiz-Luis said.