The International Labor Organization on Thursday said Philippine lawmakers should concentrate on creating more jobs in the country as the global crisis threatens to increase unemployment in Southeast Asia and the Pacific to 6.0-6.4 percent this year.

ILO labor economist Steven Kapsos said economic growth in the Philippines is expected to fall from 4.2-4.5 percent in 2008 to 2.3-3.4 percent this year, which is likely to have a negative impact on the labor market and people's livelihoods.

"We haven't yet seen large increase in unemployment in the Philippines, but the crisis is also likely to affect workers in other ways that are somewhat more difficult to measure, such as declining hours of work (an increase in part-time work), pressure for lower wages and less job security," he said in an interview.

Overall, he said an additional 23 million workers in the region living only marginally above the poverty line are in danger of becoming poor if governments do not take action. The ILO has said at least 45 million workers are living in extreme poverty, earning only US$1.25 (about P59) a day.

According to ILO's Global Employment Trends report, global unemployment in 2009 could increase by a range of 18 million to 30 million workers, and more than 50 million if the situation continues to deteriorate.

 The ILO report also said that in this last scenario some 200 million workers, mostly in developing economies, could be pushed into extreme poverty.  

Kapsos said that while the Philippines' large fiscal reserves and surplus could help address the problems of the global crisis, lawmakers should concentrate on implementing policies that would create more jobs in the country.

"Appropriate policies must be designed and implemented. It is important to identify ways to create jobs amidst the crisis and to ensure that the poor and most vulnerable do not slip further behind.  This will help to ensure that a recovery occurs sooner rather than later," he said.

He said one scenario facing the Philippines is a "negative cycle of declining demand, falling output and rising joblessness and poverty."

He also said migrant workers could be the most affected by the crisis as policymakers try to free up jobs for their own nationals.

"Migrant workers should not be used as a political football. This would not only be harmful to them - it would also be harmful to the firms where they work as they may have difficulties finding appropriately qualified workers to replace migrants that have acquired skills over time," he said.

Kapsos said one issue affecting Southeast Asia and the Pacific is whether good quality jobs that allow workers to escape poverty and provide higher value production to economies are being created. He said an estimated 60 percent of Asia's workforce are in "vulnerable employment" or lacking benefits and without a safety net to guard against loss of incomes during economic hardship.

"People know that for growth to be sustainable and stable it must be more inclusive. The benefits of progress must trickle down. Jobs that trap people in poverty, rather than releasing them from it, do not allow people or societies to grow economically and socially, or to be competitive in the long term.  So the lesson of this crisis is that decent work is not an optional luxury, it is essential for stable, equitable growth," he said.

He said Asian countries including the Philippines should implement several measures such as direct transfer payments and increased spending on health care to stem the effects of the global crisis.

"Direct transfer payments and spending on health care can be effective ways of ensuring that people are able to continue spending and consuming, which will support growth. Loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, which employ most workers in the region and which are being hard hit by problems accessing credit, are another good tool for policymakers to consider," he said.

"Longer term, increased investment in education and training can help to ensure that workers have up-to-date skills that will be in demand when the recovery begins to take shape."