Accountancy, Business and Management Strand

Senior High School Department

Ateneo de Naga University
Bagumbayan Sur, Naga City, 4400

PROJECT PROPOSAL

I. Title :
II. IFP Goal :
III. Theme :
IV. Implementation Date:
V. Venue :
VI. Rationale
When a person is unemployed, it does not only affect the person privately but it also
affects the whole nation. Unemployed people have a lesser purchasing power due to loss of
income compared to persons who have jobs. This loss of income would make people incapable
of meeting sufficient needs. Another personal effect is that people who are not employed at
present will find it more difficult to find jobs in the future — which is stated in the concept of
hysteresis in economics. For the country, employment rate is one of the socio-economic
indicators and another way of measuring the growth of its economy, therefore, unemployment
insinuates weakness in an economy. High unemployment rates can lead to a cutback in the
nation’s flow of money; for example, for every one person unemployed is one less taxpayer.
With this kind of effect, according to Hudson (2013), if unemployment rate continues to
increase, the state will probably raise taxes in recognition for the loss tax revenues, forcing
everyone to experience loss in disposable income, and that loss in disposable income will
become a ripple effect, then less money will be spent in the economy. Not only money will be
lessen in the economy, but there would also be a loss in human capital. These are the reasons
why unemployment is a social problem and nothing less than an economic challenge.
“Even though global unemployment has stabilized, decent work deficits remain
widespread: the global economy is still not creating enough jobs. Additional efforts need to be
put in place to improve the quality of work for jobholders and to ensure that the gains of growth
are shared equitably,” ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said. Even with booming economies, no
country is foreign to the problem of unemployment. Some economists say that countries can
 Accountancy, Business and Management Strand
Senior High School Department
Ateneo de Naga University
Bagumbayan Sur, Naga City, 4400
never really combat unemployment because there is what they call a natural rate of
unemployment, though the real challenge is that when there is a high unemployment rate which
inflicts cost to the economy. This is why high-income countries in the world are not quite
affected by their unemployment rate, unlike its effect on other moderate-income countries and all
low-income countries, like the Philippines.
The Labor Statistics Office estimated a rate of unemployment with the figures 5.3% for
the month of January 2018. Philippines has the fastest growing economy in Asia, but it also has
one of the highest unemployment rate as compared to its neighboring ASEAN countries. With its
economy growing steadily, Philippines has failed to manage its population growth. As a result,
employment opportunities failed to progress with the increase in workforce. According to Hasan
and Jandoc (2009), the employment in manufacturing sector has been stagnant -- the sector
where most quality permanent jobs are generated -- while the service sector absorbed the greatest
rate of employment after the shift of people from agriculture. One of the key factors in the
increasing unemployment in the Philippines is overpopulation. It is the 12th most populated
country in the world. Based on 2015 census data, the Philippines has a population of
100,981,437 and, as based on the 2015 census results, compared to its population in 2010, it has
increased by an estimate of 8 million — resulted to a population growth rate of 1.72%. The UN
gives its latest estimate for the Philippines’s 2018 population which is 106.51 million.
Accountancy, Business and Management Strand
Senior High School Department
Ateneo de Naga University
Bagumbayan Sur, Naga City, 4400
 Accountancy, Business and Management Strand
Senior High School Department
Ateneo de Naga University
Bagumbayan Sur, Naga City, 4400

Filipinos have been known for their resiliency and Philippines is known for its richness
in both natural and human resources. Despite this, Philippines was ranked 69th in the list
“Poorest Countries in the World” of Global Finance Magazine (2017). Compared to its neighbors
in the Southeast Asian region – countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and China have been
diminishing poverty at 2.1 to 2.4 percentage points per year – Philippines is not reducing poverty
fast enough, with a poverty reduction rate of less than 1 percentage point each year in the past
decade (Luo, 2018).
Poverty is not obscure to the world. It is an intricate problem with many faces, factors
and causes and a state in which one lacks the means to access basic human necessities, such as
food, water and shelter. Based on the updated poverty line of $1.90 a day, World Bank
projections suggest that global poverty may have reached 700 million, or 9.6 percent of global
population, in 2015. But just like any other country, Philippines is also trying to combat poverty.
The World Bank presented that 21.6% of Filipinos are living below the poverty line in 2015.
This showed that poverty in recent years did decline compared to the rate of 26.6% in 2006.
Currently, the Philippine government has a program called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program or 4Ps proposed by Senator Manuel Araneta Roxas II, which contributed to this decline.
Another reason was the expansion of jobs outside of agriculture and remittances from Filipinos
abroad. There have been plans for further improvement of the said program under the name of
Pinalawak na Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 5Ps led by Senator Jejomar Binay.
Even with these types of programs, there are still several factors or challenges that the
Philippines have. First, the Philippines is still primarily an agricultural country with most of its
citizens still living in rural areas and making a living through agriculture. Nonetheless, this sector
 Accountancy, Business and Management Strand
Senior High School Department
Ateneo de Naga University
Bagumbayan Sur, Naga City, 4400
receives little productivity growth, unlike other countries. One of the concerns is that
agricultural lands are being converted into commercial areas, residential areas, et cetera. With
this, land to be cultivated for agricultural use start to decrease and given less importance because
of the priority of converting these agricultural lands into commercial lands. Another concern is
the environmental degradation -- whether man-made or natural. Due to improvements in
technology and urban living, there are times in which nature is put aside in order to make way
for more improvement in urbanization without even looking at the long-term effects that this
may bring. Another reason is the low job opportunities in the Philippines, in which its failure to
manage population growth also contributed. As a result, with its economy growing moderately,
employment opportunities failed to progress with the increase in workforce. According to Hasan
and Jandoc (2009), the employment in manufacturing sector has been stagnant -- the sector
where most quality permanent jobs are generated -- while the service sector absorbed the greatest
rate of employment after the shift of people from agriculture. They also found that the fastest-
growing job type is not permanent-wage employment but casual-wage jobs, and that wages and
earnings growth is weak for workers in general. High and constant levels of inequality is another
reason. Unequal distribution of income for the past years is one of these inequalities. According
to the Asian Development Bank, the Philippines, compared with its neighboring ASEAN
countries, has the highest level of inequality in terms of distribution of income or wealth among
a population (Gini coefficient). Furthermore, Philippines has also the challenge of inequitable
land distribution. ************************Son (2008) analyzes the relationship between
growth and inequality of factor income in the Philippines across regions and explores links
between income growth and labor market performance in terms of labor force
participation, employment, working hours, and productivity. She finds that the
components that would reduce inequality include agriculture wage income, enterprise
income, and domestic remittances, and those that would increase inequality are
nonagriculture wage income, foreign remittances, and other income. NOT YET
EDITED****************************

VII. Objectives
 Accountancy, Business and Management Strand
Senior High School Department
Ateneo de Naga University
Bagumbayan Sur, Naga City, 4400
VIII. Particulars

IX. Committees

X. Budget