250,000 Filipinos to lose jobs in next 6 months

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

MANILA, Jan. 27 (Chinese media) -- About 250,000 Filipino workers are likely to lose their jobs in the next six months amid the global financial crisis, local media reported on Tuesday.

The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment has so far recorded more than 30,000 laid-off workers since last December and the figure could reach 35,000 by the end of the month, the Philippine Star reported, quoting an anonymous labor official.

"We have posted a total of 33,548 workers displaced and subjected to reduce working hours. The number could hit 35,000 by the end of January and if the trend continues, we are looking at about 240,000 to 250,000 displacements in six months," the official said.

Most displaced workers came from small- and medium-enterprises and companies in Southern Tagalog and Central Visayas, particularly in the central city of Cebu.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque has called on the public not to panic since the number of displaced Filipino workers, from home and abroad, is still within the normal range.

"The figure that we are getting at this time is not really alarming and we could immediately facilitate their re-employment or provide them with alternative sources of livelihood," Roque said.

Government data showed that the unemployment rate was posted at 6.8 percent and underemployment rate at 17.5 percent in October last year in the southeast Asian country, with a population of some 90 million. The "underemployed" are those who either wanted to work full-time, get second jobs or move to other jobs that would pay better.