Well, now isn't this a cute picture? It's funny too. But by the time we graduate and start looking for jobs that may or may not be as scarce as it is right now, there wouldn't be anything to laugh about anymore when we are desperate to find a way to make a living. When we are, God forbid, going to be part of the millions of people who are unemployed. It definitely won't be a funny thing anymore, and this picture of a cow will actually make sense to some.Unemployment occurs when a person is available and willing to work but currently without work. Unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, defined as the percentage of those in the labor force who are unemployed. On the other hand, underemployment is the employment of members with high skill levels in low-wage jobs that do not acquire such abilities, for example a trained medical doctor who works as a taxi driver. On October 2009 about 7.1% of those in the labor force are unemployed, and about 19.4% are underemployed.
Unemployment could not only affect the individual's lifestyle, but it could affect the community and the country as well. Though not directly, unemployment can slow down the economic progress of the Philippines. There are many factors that could lead to unemployment, but for us, we believe that overpopulation and the lack of educational degree are two of the root causes.
Why overpopulation? Of course, it's kind of obvious. Most people nowadays find it easier to fertilize an egg than to get a job for the sake of money and livelihood, if you get what we mean. With the population continuously increasing, the availability of jobs would also decrease if not as rapidly, but maybe even more rapid than the increasing population in the Philippines. We can't exactly blame those companies and corporations for not giving the citizens enough available jobs, because they can only manage a certain amount of people depending on their resources and the size of that certain company or corporation. As population increases, resources (especially land resources) are being more used up, in a way decreasing the availability or accessibility to that resource. With the lack of resources, how will the companies and corporations be able to establish a business? And if they can't establish a business, how are people going to be able to get a job that actually pays well? Let's just say businesses can't exactly go like BOOM in a snap of a finger, it takes several months and maybe even years for it to be those "good" companies who pay their human resources well (well, depending on what kind of establishment it is). While on the other hand, it only takes nine months for a baby to be born (not saying that a baby's going to work as soon as it's born but you know what we mean).
Now, on to the next factor, which is lack of educational degree. Of course certain jobs require a person to have a college diploma in order for that person to work there, and unfortunately, those are the kinds of jobs that would give a well-paid salary. Unfortunate because there are a lot of families who can afford the expensive college tuition for their kids, but there are more families who will have to ask their kid to stop by the time they graduate high school or grade school, most of the time it's because they are not financially capable to give their kids quality education. And it's not so likely for a bigshot corporation to hire someone who was only able to graduate grade school or high school, unless they have open applications for those small jobs like receptionists or maintenance personnel, or whichever doesn't pay as well as an assistant executive or whatnot. It's harsh, but it's true. A lot of these people who lack proper education end up mostly as motorela or trisikad drivers who probably earn as much as or less than the poverty threshold.
To us, the state of the Philippines is rather unstable. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't stop trying to make it a better place to live in. Use our natural resources properly, don't waste it, you'll never know when someone else is going to desperately need it. Help our less fortunate community members, reach out to them and help them out in anyway possible. As citizens of the Philippines, we have our part in helping the country, we can't keep relying on the government and complain whenever they do something wrong when we ourselves haven't done anything to help. And, for us, as students of development communication, it is our responsibility to be passionate and diligent in contributing whatever help possible for our country. To help the Philippines develop, through communication.
