Pumpkin2022
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At least 6.8% of Filipinos in the labor force are unpaid workers, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Wednesday. DOLE Secretary Bievenido Laguesma confirmed the numbers during the budget deliberations on the proposed 2025 budget before the House committee on appropriations when asked about it by Marikina lawmaker Stella Quimbo. “Underemployment is one of those quality indicators [of jobs]. And when I look at the quality of the jobs, I look at the number of unpaid workers. In June 2023, the unpaid workers were at 9.4%. They are working but they are not being paid. That much. But, as of June 2024, the unpaid workers is down to 6.8%,” Quimbo said. “So that's about one million workers...I hope my computation is correct, one million unpaid workers now became wage workers,” Quimbo added. Laguesma responded by saying that "Those figures are right and our situation really improved.” “However, we are not being complacent at this point. We really have to provide quality jobs so that we won’t be having underemployed anymore. But we still have a long way to go,” Laguesma added. Laguesma did not cite specific numbers on unpaid workers.
It’s clear more needs to be done, but it's great to see progress. 
