The country’s ‘bright ‘employment situation has put Filipinos in a better position to weather impact of rising prices of basic commodities, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Tuesday.

Diokno made the remarks when asked about the pubclic expectations in case the administration achieve its two to four percent inflation target.

“Iyong employment situation natin really is also very bright ‘no. Ang unemployment natin ngayon at the moment is 4.5 percent ? mababa na iyon compared sa other years and in fact it’s lower than what is in the medium-term economic program ni Presidente,” Diokno said.

“And also the quality of employment has improved ‘no. Iyong dati na tinatawag na underemployment rate ? ano ba ang ibig sabihin ng underemployment rate? Ang underemployment rate ang ibig sabihin noon. May trabaho ka na, pero tatanungin ka, are you looking for a better job? Kapag sinabi mong yes, underemployed ka,” he added.

The country’s underemployment rate used to be 26 percent, now the lowest is even 10.4 percent, he said, stressing the improvement in the Philippine employment situation.

“Iyan ang makakatulong sa mga kababayan natin. Kung may trabaho ka, hindi mo na masyadong mapapansin iyong 2 to 4 percent na inflation. Kasi may trabaho ka naman eh.”

Diokno also said that even the so-called labor force participation rate has increased tremendously to around 65 percent, which means that many Filipinos who want to join the labor force are able to find jobs.

Regarding calls for wage increase, the finance chief said the concern of the industrialists and the workers has to be taken into account.

Unaffordable wage hike may lead to factories or businesses shutting down their operations to the detriment of the workers, he said.

The country’s headline inflation eased to 4.9 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September.

The 4.9 percent is lower than the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) forecast of 5.1 to 5.9 percent or midpoint, 5.5 percent, Diokno said, hoping for the inflation rate to continue to slowdown in December. Presidential News Desk