MANILA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it has approved a 500-million-U.S. dollar policy-based loan to support job creation and workforce development in the Philippines.
The ADB said the Business and Employment Recovery Program Subprogram 2 will help the government pursue reforms and initiatives to achieve inclusive economic growth by equipping the country's labor force, including vulnerable youth, with the skills required to meet evolving industry needs.
"While job recovery in the Philippines has been encouraging in the post-COVID-19 period, the quality of jobs remains a critical concern, with many workers still facing challenges such as underemployment, informality, and limited access to decent work opportunities," said ADB Country Director for the Philippines Pavit Ramachandran.
Under the program, the Philippine government is targeting to increase formal employment in the private sector by an average of 600,000 to 700,000 jobs per year, with the share of private sector jobs to total employment rising to 51 percent against 49 percent in 2019.
The government also wants to raise the number of job placements through public employment service offices in local government units nationwide by 120,000 annually. ■
