View source for Northern Mindanao attains 94.2% employment rate

*Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=852860
*Monday, February 1, 2016 
:(PNA), BNB/CD/ERCEL MAANDIG

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Feb. 1 (PNA) -- The employment rate in Northern Mindanao was pegged at 94.2 percent, while the unemployment rate was steady at 5.8 percent the last two years from 2014 to 2015, a labor official said Monday.

Albert E. Gutib, assistant regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Northern Mindanao, said that the underemployment rate also dropped from 31 percent to 22.6 percent during the two-year period.

Gutib said that the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released the figures, citing the youth sector to have the biggest chunk of unemployment in the region.

He said that the DOLE is now addressing the unemployment rate among the youth through boosting the implementation of the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES).

The SPES is targeting the poor, but deserving students and the out-of-school-youths (OSYs) who intend to pursue their education through the student employment program during summer, Christmas season, or any time of the year, Gutib said.

Under the program a qualified student may work for a minimum of 15 days and a maximum of 52 days where the employer pays 60 percent of the monthly pay and the remaining 40 percent by the DOLE, he said.

In addition, the DOLE is advancing another program tagged as 'Jobstart' through the Public Employment Service Office (PESO), which the city of Cagayan de Oro is the only one implementing city in Northern Mindanao, Gutib said.The beneficiaries of the programs are the youth, in partnership with the city government, Asian Development Bank, and Government of Canada.

After undergoing the three month training under the 'Jobstart' program, the youths would be deployed in any offices and agencies for another three-month internship, Gutib said.