This Joint Programme is with the support from the Government of Spain with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as the lead implementing government partner. The Decent Jobs for Filipino Youth project looks at improving policy coherence to improve the employment situation for youth, and works through public-private partnerships to put young women and men into jobs.

Young people throughout the world are two to three times more likely than older generations to be out of work. In the Philippines, some 18.5 million people are between 15 and 24 years of age of a population exceeding 90 million. Youth constitute nearly two thirds of the unemployed, with unemployment higher in urban than in rural areas, and females facing greater difficulties than males.

In the past, the paucity of jobs was attributed to high population growth and economic slack. However, economic growth in recent years has not created enough new jobs, suggesting a deep structural problem. Youth are not working in key industries. Youth unemployment can also be attributed to limited access to information on job opportunities, and education has proved no guarantee for employment. Young people, both skilled and unskilled, seek employment opportunities abroad and make up 35 per cent of overseas Filipino workers.

For further information please contact:

ILO Country Office for the Philippines (CO-Manila)
19^th Floor, Yuchengco Tower
RCBC Plaza 6819 Ayala Avenue
1200 Makati City, Philippines
Tel. +632 8580 9900

Fax +632 8856 7597

Email